


Do You Believe in Magic

by Winder



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Adoption, F/M, M/M, Magic AU, Other, Slow Burn, shape shifting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 16:53:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 87,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9334178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winder/pseuds/Winder
Summary: Aster was never one to believe in fairies and trolls, at least not until he met the drop dead sexy Fury, a guy with the ability of flight, shape shifting, and control over lightning. Without warning or choice he's thrown into a world of psycho family members, danger, magic, and love.





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own RotG/HtTYD  
Summary: Aster was never one to believe in fairies and trolls, at least not until he met the drop dead sexy Fury, a guy with the ability of flight, shape shifting, and control over lightning. Without warning or choice he's thrown into a world of psycho family members, danger, magic, and love. 

Do You Believe in Magic  
Chapter 1

“I'm telling you it's legit!” Jack said, grinning from ear to ear as the older male sighed while he turned the lock to close up his store for the night.   
“For the last time Jack,” Aster muttered as he pocketed the keys and turned back to face his little brother, “that stuff is a bunch of hogwash, none of it is real.”   
“Aw come on Aster!” Jack nearly whined as he waved his hands in the air in an over dramatic fashion of exasperation. “Where's your sense of magic and mystery?”   
“It died along with my sense of humour.” The older male grumbled as he threw an arm around the boy's neck before he started dragging him away from the store front. “Now come on, I need to get you home in time for bed. You've still got school in the morning.”   
“Oh wait! Wait!” Jack exclaimed while he squirmed out of his brothers hold before folding his hands together as if he was about to get down on his knees and prey. “Can I please just go back and say good night to Hiccup?”   
“Hiccup?” Aster repeated while he stared down at the boy who just seemed to be glowing while he nodded his head so quickly Aster was surprised that his head didn't fall off. Not without giving a long sigh did Aster even bother glancing at the store that was only a few doors down from his own and just passed one of his favourite clothing shops. Turning his attention back to Jack he rolled his eyes when he noticed the boy had pulled out his infamous puppy dog lock and waved him off.   
“Sure, just make it quick.”   
Jack didn't even seem to waste a second before he had turned on his heels and dashed down the short street and threw the door open. He was gone before Aster could blink and for some reason or another he couldn't stop himself from chuckling as he took his time in getting to the store.   
As much as Jack bugged and annoyed the hell out of him, he wouldn't trade his little brother for anyone else or anything else. Still though, as he drew closer to the store he couldn't help but frown upon staring at the covered windows and thick wooden door. He'd always thought that this store front was one of the oddest ones, it was old and in need of being remodelled for years, and until just two weeks ago it had been completely empty. It seemed like these people had shown up out of nowhere and their shop had been bought, set up, and opened in record time. Their opening day had been yesterday, and Aster had been floored over the fact of how many people he knew both personally and customer wise who fell for the cheap antics and voodoo nonsense. He'd tried forbidding Jack from going, but the boy was stubborn and, as it was made obvious with his bleached white hair, in a rebellious stage. Jack had slipped out when Aster had ducked into the back for two seconds to grab a costumer's order and than hadn't returned for hours.   
Staring up at the heavy drapes that filled the windows and blocked off the view of the inside Aster couldn't help the hairs on the back of his neck from standing on end as he glared at the deep purple fabric. He almost couldn't shake the feeling that even if this place was another fake hippy dippy store, there was something about it that just didn't feel right. Something that he couldn't seem to shake no matter how many time he had passed this place in the past and still seemed to stay with it even when occupied. His eyes glanced over to the glowing neon sign, rereading over the words like he had so many times since it had opened just the day before. He wondered how they still managed to get people to come in as he read over the roughly scripted writing that was coloured pure black and a matching deep purple like the drapes.   
House of Lies  
They were admitting to their fraud right out in the open, and instead of ignoring it as the trick that it was, people had the mouth on them to call it 'cute' and 'clever'.   
Aster couldn't stop himself from jumping when the door was opened again, this time, instead of Jack walking out, it was a large man he didn't recognize.   
The man was tall, taller than Aster, with broad shoulders and short blond hair with bright red at the tips. His sharp yellow eyes glanced over at the other shop owner through a hooded gaze before he reached into the pocket of his leather jack and pulled out both a lighter and a fresh cigarette. Turning his attention solely to the objects in his hands he lit the white stick before pocketing his lighter and leaning against the wall almost lazily. It was only than that he turned his attention to Aster as he gave him a half smirk while taking a long drag.   
“You debating on going in?”   
Wrinkling his noes up at the very thought Aster narrowed his gaze as he crossed his arms over his chest.   
“No. I run the deli and bakery next door, I have no time for you voodoo nonsense.”   
The man simply shrugged though, turning back to his cig for a moment before blowing the smoke out in the others direction.   
“Than why wait out here? You're scaring customers off with that ugly mug of yours.” He chuckled, leaving Aster fuming in place.   
“And I'm sure you attract them in hordes hm?” He snapped as the guy just chuckled again, his shoulders shaking slightly with the movement as he shook his head.   
“Nah, I leave that to Fury to draw them in.” He said simply, taking in another breath and filling his lungs easily with the poisonous smoke.  
Aster raised a brow at that as he shifted his weight over to one foot, wondering briefly what was taking Jack so long before his curiosity got the best of him.   
“Fury?”   
“He's the owner.” The man supplied, turning his gaze towards the dying light and letting the smoke slip passed his lips. “Surprised he hasn't stopped by and introduced himself yet. I'm sure he's going to be one of your regulars. The guys a sucker for his little brother and Hic sure loves his sweets. Probably doesn't help that you guys are rumoured to have the best cod sandwiches either.”   
Blocking out almost all of the information he was just told Aster held onto the bit that interested him the most.   
“Hic? Is that short for Hiccup by any chance?” He asked, tilting his head forward slightly as the man's eyes narrowed in on him.   
As he pushed himself away from the wall Aster suddenly realized just how much bigger the smoker was than him as his body seemed to fill up the whole doorway. He refused to take a step back however, standing still as the man advanced toward him.   
“And how would you know?”   
His voice came out in a low hiss and Aster found his shoulders hunching as he shifted one of his feet behind him, getting ready to fight if worse came to worse.   
“Jack was talking about saying goodbye to some kid named Hiccup. I just thought...”  
“Jack!” The man suddenly shouted, a smile blooming over his face as he let out a burst of laughter.   
His sudden mood change through Aster off guard, his mouth falling open while his brows drew together before an arm was thrown around his shoulders and he was pulled in tightly.   
“You're that little hellens brother!?” The man grinned, not seeming to notice how close the burning end of his cig was getting to the man's face. “That kid is a load of laughs, Hiccup just adores him.” He said with a chuckle as he finally let the other go so he could pull the stick from his mouth for a moment, never once breaking eye contact as he pointed his cigaret wielding hand at Aster, a smirk pulling at his lips, “Don't think Fury's to fond of him though, you should see the way he watches Jack when he's here. Keeps a sharp eye on those two every second of the day.”   
“Really?” Aster muttered, not sure what else he should say as he briefly wondered just how close these two were. Maybe he should be keeping an eye out too...  
“Names Hookfang by the way.” The stranger put in, shoving a hand out as he tilted his head to the side while he waited for Aster to take the offer. “You must be the pain in the ass older brother Aster that Jack is always going on about, unless there's another brother we don't know about.”   
“Nope,” Aster sighed as he took the offer, not bothering to comment on the name as he shook Hookfang's hand, “that would be me.”   
It was nice to know that, that was how Jack introduced him to strangers, it made him feel all fuzzy inside and full of pride. Hookfang, Fury, and Hiccup though? Who was naming these people?   
“Bye Hiccup! See ya tomorrow!”   
Aster's eyes were drawn to the door once more as it was opened to reveal the one he was waiting for. Jack's smile was huge as he turned back to his brother with a light in his eyes that the older male had never seen before. Pressing his lips tightly together Aster couldn't help but wonder if he was going to have to scare the shit out of his little brother with the birds and the bees conversation that he had skipped out on when the boy was younger and should have been told.  
“Oh, hey Hookfang, you heading home?” Jack asked as he was pulled in to the bigger man's side easily when an arm was thrown over his shoulders, draping across them like a huge boa constrictor.   
“Not yet kiddo, still have some stuff I've got to do before I leave.” Hookfang grinned as he ruffled the boy's hair while Aster's eyes narrowed, not sure if the action was inappropriate or not.   
When Jack just laughed though and slipped under his arm to join his brother he decided the man meant nothing by it was he went back to his smoke and turned his gaze up to the deep blue of the sky.   
“See you've meet Bunny though, isn't he just like how I described?” Jack smirked while Aster gave him a whack to the back of his head, drawing back Hookfang's attention, a smirk pulling at his lips at the stupid nickname and making him chuckle.   
“He's every bit the kill joy, stick in the mud, grump you said he was.”   
“Thanks.” Aster deadpanned as he glared down at Jack who simply smiled back up at him. “You ready to go now Frostbite?” He asked while Jack nodded his head.   
“Yup.” He grinned, turning his attention back to Hookfang as he gave the giant male an overly enthusiastic wave. “See ya tomorrow Hook!” He called as they started to walk away.   
Hookfang simply chuckled though, giving a much smaller wave as he dropped his cig to the ground, crushing it under his foot before he turned back into the store.   
When they had walked down the street a little bit more Aster let out a long sigh before he shoved his hands deeply into the pockets of his jacket to hide them from the biting cold.   
“I don't want you going back there Jack.”   
The boy seemed to come to a sudden halt as his mouth fell open and his head turned around so quickly to stare at Aster he was almost surprised his neck didn't snap. The older male grabbed the back of his hood though and yanked him forward so they could continue to walk down the street.   
“Don't give me that look. You know how I feel about people like that. They're a bunch of freaks and lairs.”   
“No their not Aster.” Jack huffed with a roll of his eyes as he too shoved his hands into the pouch of his hoodie. “They're really nice people if you would just get to know them.”   
“Ya, well I don't want to get to know them, and I don't want you to either, so stop hanging around with them. That's just trouble waiting to happen.” Aster grumbled while Jack stuck out his tongue childishly.   
“You can't stop me from going.”   
“You wanna bet?” Aster smirked as he glanced down at the smaller male who only glared back up.  
After a moment Jack just turned back to the front, holding his head held high as he quickened his pace.   
“Whatever, I'll just see Hic at school anyways. He's starting there tomorrow and I've already agreed to how him around and introduce him to some people I know. And who knows, maybe we'll hangout at his house and all of them will be there.”   
“Jack.” His tone was warning but Jack simply shot him a side smirk before he turned his gaze forward once more, his nose lifting in the air in victory as he continued on his march home.   
Knowing that he was fighting a losing battle Aster rubbed at his eyes tiredly before throwing his hands in the air while Jack snickered, already knowing what was going to happen.   
“Fine. Have it your way than, but if you're going to be hanging out with this kid than I want to at least get to meet him.”   
“So you're saying he can come over!?” Jack questioned, jumping in excitement as he grabbed a hold of Aster's arm and almost violently shook him. “For real!?”   
Snatching the boy's hand and pulling him off Bunny nodded his head as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and forced him to calm down.   
“Yes, besides, at the rate your going with this kid I'm afraid I might have to set up a wedding or something.” Aster said, watching as Jack's face lit up bright red, words dying on his tongue as he tried to force them out.   
“I-I don't, pfft, what are you talking about?” He stuttered while a smirk worked it's way over the man's face.   
“Don't bother trying to hide it Frostbite. It's pretty obvious to see. I can see it clear as day and I haven't even see you two together.”   
Jack winched slightly as his hand moved up to rub at the back of his head in the most sheepish manner he could think of.   
“Um, you don't think that maybe Fury noticed do you?”   
“I think he'd have to be an idiot not to.” Aster said, snickering at the horrified look that came across his brother's face.   
“Oh god he's gonna kill me.” The boy groaned as he dropped his head in his hands.   
“Hey,” Aster cooed as he gently nudged the boy with his elbow, “if he tries I'll get him first alright?”   
“Thanks, that's comforting.” Jack sassed, sneering at his older brother playfully before receiving another whack to the head.


	2. Chapter 2

Do You Believe in Magic  
Chapter 2

Aster hummed softly to himself as he continued to carefully decorate the cookies that sat across his counter. They were finely cooked molasses cookies, something he was told was Hiccup's favourite that moment before Jack ran out the door. Now Aster might not have agreed with the kids older brother, but he also didn't believe in not being a good host. If Hiccup was going to be coming over for dinner tonight he wanted to make sure that he put his best foot forward and at the very least gave the kid a nice meal. After all anyone who knew him knew what a hopeless case he made with small talk to teenagers.   
Finishing the last touch up across the deep brown tops he nodded his head with a small smile pulling at his lips. They really did look cute if he had to say so. He'd carefully shaped them into little bats, in celebration of the newly started Halloween month, with little wings and fangs and glowing red eyes.   
His gaze moved to the front of the shop however when he heard his bell let out a soft chime through the store, allowing him to know that someone had entered. He could feel his smile grow wider upon seeing one of his favourite regulars walk in, stifling a soundless yawn, their golden coloured eyes barely able to stay open. With a small chuckle he ducked into the back, quickly snatching the already made order off the steal counter before moving back through the swinging door and to the cash. The shorter man was already standing there, nearly sleeping against the counter as his wild blond hair stuck up this way and that.   
“Good morning Sandy.” He said, snickering softly when the man seemed to jump, as if he just realized that Aster was there. “Long night?”   
Sandy just nodded his head, being unable to speak since he was born as he signed to the man about the hard night that he'd just had, or few nights since he had been working for the pasted two weeks non stop.   
It was at times like these that Aster was really glad that he hadn't decided to go into the field of medication, sure it was a noble trade, but he could not imagine the kind of work the poor guy did week after week. Specializing in surgery and working the ER while being completely understaffed sounded like a nightmare to him, and seemed to be one too. Still sometimes Sandy would come in beaming, his eyes bright as he would sign to Aster about his night and what had happened.   
Today didn't seem to be one of those days though and Aster could only hand the man his things before allowing him to walk off and get some much needed rest.   
As he waved the other man away he took a quick look around his store, trying to see if there was anything that needed to be done. Other than Sandy, and a few others that would rarely stagger in this early in the morning, he was pretty much dead. Not that he minded to much, he would always be running his ass off come lunch so he appreciated the quieter moments in order to see what he could fix up of renew in order to keep his place tip top. After all, as much as he wished it would keep itself clean, nothing was going to get done if he didn't do it.   
When he decided that maybe it was time to clear out the shelves and give them a good dusting, maybe even a few coatings of polish to keep it in good shape, he headed towards his sink and knelt down to get his supplies.   
The moment he'd open the cupboard door though the bell went off again, warning him of a new customer while he quickly grabbed what he needed.   
Standing back up he placed the items on the small counter before him before turning around to face whoever had come in.   
“Hi may I help....”   
The words died on his tongue, retreating back to his throat as if a curse had been put on him to keep them from tumbling out.   
Standing just inside his doors was the most beautiful, handsome, sexy... he couldn't even find the words to describe the stranger as the only thought able to enter his mind was...  
Wow.   
They were dressed simply, wearing a pair of form fitting jeans and a plain button up, short sleeved shirt that was as black as their hair. His eyes were a mixture of green and yellow, seeming to merge together to create a soul sucking toxin colour that had Aster frozen to the spot as a nearly invisible smile pulled at the strangers lips. His hair was longer than Aster's, just managing to brush passed his toned shoulders and lightly tickle his collarbone. His jaw was squared, but almost delicate enough not to be noticed and sharp enough to cut. The rising sun rays were hitting his sun-kissed skin at just the perfect angles that if Aster hadn't known any better he would have thought the man was a gift from the gods being dropped off at his doorsteps.   
Unable to help himself he allowed a smirk slide over his lips as his eyelids hooded and his voice came back with a soothing nip that he was told was like velvet on the ears.   
“May I help you?”   
He wanted to drop his head on the counter the moment the words slipped passed his lips as the man made his way further into the store.   
That was coming off way to strong. Over the passed few years he'd been way to busy running the place and taking care of Jack, which in itself was a full time thing, he'd barely gotten any time to mingle and flirt, or even go out an meet someone. He didn't even know if this guy was gay or not and here he was going at it like a sugar addict in a candy store.   
“Maybe.”   
Oh god, even his voice was amazing.   
Aster forced himself to snap out of it as he straightened up, switching from a smirk to a customer appropriate smile as he placed his hand on the counter.   
“Well what are you looking for? Maybe I could give you some ideas.” He said, trying his best to remain professional when the god like being drew closer, nearly blinding him with pure perfection.   
“I was told you're the best eatery in town.” The man smiled, and oh good god was that smile blinding. “I thought I'd come see for myself if it was true or not and grab something I could eat for lunch today at work.”   
Nodding his head dumbly Aster almost forgot to use his words as he quickly snapped shut his agap mouth and closed his eyes tightly for a moment to gather his thoughts.   
“Right um, well, ah, wh-what do you like?”   
Well wasn't this going well for a first impression? First he was the 'coming on to strong' jackass, and now he was the 'ohmygod I can't stop stuttering' school girl.   
The stranger, who he was going to permanently name Mr. Sexy in his head, didn't seem to mind though as he just chuckled, the sound itself nearly making Aster melt.   
Holy shit, he'd really been out of the game far to long hadn't he?   
Making a mental note to force himself to go out more now that Jack was in high school, he turned his full attention to whatever Mr. Sexy was going to say next.   
“Well, I'm a big fan of fish.” He said as his unholy gaze glanced up at the board above the others head for a moment before locking with the endless forest and swallowing it whole. “What do you have in that category?”   
“Well, I have salmon, cod, and eel...” When the man shot back some as if the word itself had done physical harm Aster raised a brow and watched as the man tried to collect himself again. “So I guess that ones a no.”   
“Yeah, sorry.” Mr. Sexy muttered, a light blush colouring over his cheeks that he tried to play off as he fixed his shirt. “Just, um, not a fan.”   
Nodding his head in understanding Aster leaned his elbows on the counter as he cocked his head to the side while an involuntary smirk pulled at the corner of his lips.   
“Don't worry. They don't bite.” He chuckled before the man smirked back down at him.   
“Do you?”   
“Only if I'm asked.”   
The moment he realized the words leaving his mouth he wish he could have snatched them back and gave them a good scolding for slipping out. It was to late now though and all he could do was watch and wait for the others reaction and see what would happen.   
To his surprise, and relief, Mr. Sexy's smile didn't waver, instead even seeming to get bigger as he placed his hands in his pockets and hooded his gaze.   
“I might have to take you up on that.”   
Oh. Shit. Holy mother of all things bright and colourful the guy was actually...! He was really playing along! He was actually flirting back! This day would go down in history as the luckiest day of Aster's life to find such a guy!  
But for now work.  
Yeah, work.   
Coughing in order to break the silence he had created while he was off in his own little world Aster straightened himself out again as he moved over to his sandwich counter, the dark haired beauty following his every step on the other side.   
“So do you have any preferences or do you just want me to...?”   
“Tall, ruggedly handsome, rough but good at heart tough guy, green eyes, square j...”   
“I meant sandwich wise!” Aster shot out quickly, scoffing at the others grin as he couldn't help but smile at him coyly. “We could discuss those later, maybe after work?”   
“I'm off at 10.” Mr. Sexy said, seeming relaxed as he watched while Aster popped open the top fridge and quickly pulled out what he would need. “And you can make it however you'd like. It is your domain after all.”   
“10 sounds great.” Aster said as he fixed up the sandwich, unable to see the others soft smile as he focused on what he was doing. “We could go out to Red Sleigh, since it's a week night it probably won't be to crowded and we could talk.” He suggested, already feeling the excitement at the idea of a date tonight, something he hadn't done in forever.  
“Red Sleigh hm? Never been, what's it like?”   
Blinking at that Aster finished off the sandwich with a single cut before picking it up and staring at the man. Sure he had never seen this guy before and he'd never seen him in high school either, he so would have remembered those legs, but as small as Burgess seemed to some people there were a countless amount of people who had never met. But to not know what the Red Sleigh was? Everyone knew that place. It was only one of the finest pubs around and it was something every high schooler dreamed of entering. Even if you didn't know all of the people you for sure didn't grow up in a place this small not knowing the places.   
“You new here?” He asked, quickly wrapping up the food to go before plopping it into a paper bag.  
“Yeah.” Mr. Sexy chuckled, his eyes dropping to the counter for a moment as he shrugged. “Me, my little brother and some friends moved in just a few weeks ago, you know, fresh start and a break from the city.” He said before placing his hands on the counter and tilting his head forward. “You wanna be my personal tour guide? Show me around a little?”   
Aster had to bite down on his tongue to keep himself from jumping over the counter and showing him around something right now. He held back though as he instead handed him the bag and gave him a small grin.   
“It would be my honour.” He said, placing his own hands on the counter and bringing them slightly closer. “I have to warn you though that the tour could go on for awhile, you might not get back home till late.”   
“Hm, that so?” Sexy grinned, a predatory glint in his eyes as his eyes burned into Aster's. “You should know that I can't stay out after dark, I'm cursed to turn into a ravenous beast once the suns gone.”   
“I guess I'll just make sure you're well fed than.”   
“That a promise?”   
“Could be.”   
Neither of them seemed to mine as the other drew closer, their breath mixing together as their lips remained just centimetres apart. It really had been to long, years to long in fact, but Aster really couldn't remember a time when it had worked out quiet this well, this just seemed... well it was almost surreal.  
“So where should I pick you up tonight?” Aster questioned as the tanner male's eyes darted down to stare briefly at his moving lips.   
“The store right next door, House of Lies.”   
Snapping back quicker than he thought would be possible Aster blinked down at the stunted male, his mind seeming to draw a blank as Mr. Stranger straightened himself out.   
“House of Lies.” He repeated, his own voice sounding pitched to his ears while the other male raised a brow.   
“Yes, House of Lies, that new...”  
“Yeah, no, I know.” Aster said curtly. “You wouldn't happen to be Fury would you?” He asked as he narrowed his gaze at the guy who only ever so slowly nodded his head with an awkward smile gracing his perfect face.   
“Yup, that's me. Fury Night. I'm the owner.”   
“Of course you are.”   
Taking a step back to lean against the back counter Aster stared at the floor for a moment, wondering what on earth had just happened before he crossed his arms over his chest.   
“So you're the owner of the Hogwarts School supply shop hm?”   
“Wow...”  
“You must be Hiccup's older brother.” He continued as Fury just pressed his lips together and nodded his head, not bothering to look at Aster for a moment, seeming to shocked at the sudden mood change. “Than you must have met my little brother Jack.”   
“Ah,” It was now Fury's turn to sharpen his gaze as he shoved his hands deeply into the pockets of his jeans and shifted his weight over to one foot, “you're his older brother, Aster.” He said, his statement being confirmed when Aster nodded his head.   
Careful green orbs watched him as Fury clicked his tongue, chuckling hollowly as he rocked back on his one foot and shook his head.  
“Okay yeah that makes sense. I wasn't listening much to what the kid was saying, I was still trying to sort somethings out, but I picked up a thing or two from Hookfang yesterday after he left. Seems you guys had quite a good conversation.”   
“If that's what you want to call it.” Aster muttered, his arms tightening across his chest when Fury placed his free hand on the counter and started to draw random symbols. For all he knew the guy could be trying to curse him or something.   
“Believe what you want.” Fury said, shrugging his shoulders lightly in that, 'holier than thou' way that every person like him seemed to have. “-But,” the man continued as he snapped his gaze back up to clash with the others, his smirk making Aster want to squirm in place from the intensity. Before he knew it he found himself drawn to that gaze as he walked back over to the counter to hear what the other had to say in such as hushed whisper. “Don't think that gets you out of being my tour guide for tonight.”   
Without any warning the dark haired male placed a kiss to under his chin, close to his throat and making goosebumps appear across his skin in its wake. All Aster could do was listen to the musical sound of his laughter as he slipped out of the store, leaving nothing in his wake but the soft chime of the bell and a baffled Aster.   
Of course the one guy that had managed to catch his attention in years just had to be the kind of guy he knew he was going to hate. It was just to bad that he was going to have to work at trying to hate him.   
“Damnit...”


	3. Chapter 3

Do You Believe in Magic  
Chapter 3

Out of all of the things that he had been expecting Hiccup to be, this had not been it. He'd thought, at first, that Hiccup would have been some really creepy looking kid that seemed to be just asking for trouble or had this weird 'mother energy thing' going on. After meeting Fury, and being slightly thrown on how normal the guy looked and seemed, he'd thought that maybe Hiccup would look like a little mini version of his brother.   
This had not been at all what he was expecting.   
The kid was a runt, for less of a better term, and even the clothing he wore he seemed to be swimming in. He had a giant messenger bag that seemed to bite into his shoulder from how much it carried, and Aster was surprised to see that it was still holding together since it looked about ready to be bursting from the seams. The green sweater he wore went well passed his fingertips and even the skinny jeans he had on seemed to be to big. He wore clunky shoes on his feet and Aster was surprised that he didn't trip over by just standing there. His eyes were bright green, mirroring that of his brothers but that seemed to be the only trait that they shared. Hiccup wasn't nearly as tan as his brother and where Fury had black hair, Hiccup's was a pretty auburn colour that seemed to change hues in the light.   
The kid was also shy, something Fury definitely was not.  
“H-hi. I'm Hiccup.”   
Jack stood next to him, absolutely beaming as his eyes seemed to be glued on the boy at his side. Aster's gaze slowly shifted to his little brother, wondering if there was anyway he could be any less discreet. Turning his attention back to the boy however he gave him a warm smile as he reached out his hand and waited for the boy to take his in return.  
“I'm Aster, Jack's older brother and guardian.” He said while Hiccup quickly took his hand.   
“Jack's told me a lot about you!” The little brunet grinned seeming to be a bit more open in just those few short seconds.   
“Ya, no doubt telling you what a hard ass I am.” Aster mumbled as he turned to glare at his brother who only gave him a toothy grin in return.   
“No actually.” Hiccup said, seeming shocked at the very idea of it as he stared at Aster with his eyes held open a little wider. “He was actually telling me how much of a great older brother you are and how lucky he was to have someone like you and how much he looks up to...”  
“Okay who's hungry!?” Jack interrupted as he slapped a hand over the Hiccup's mouth, trying to cover his bright blush by ducking behind his older brother and dragging the squirming boy into the kitchen. “I'm sure he cooked something up for us this morning and you've gotta taste whatever it is! Even if they are terrible try and be nice.”   
Staring after his brother as he disappeared Aster almost couldn't believe it. He'd been so use to getting lip from his little brother, especially over the later years, that he didn't expect him to say anything good about him to anyone anymore. What surprised him more was that he would say that to someone like the Hiccup kid, someone he was really taking a real interest in. It was almost mind blowing, and he would be lying if he said that it didn't make him a little bit giddy to know that his little brother still looked up to him.   
Shaking his head a little as he made it to the back with the kids, he wondered if Jack and Hiccup would be okay with eating here. It was only two forty after all, and he wouldn't be closed for another three or so hours. Even if it started getting darker around this time of the year already, he still made good business when the kids got off school and stopped by his place for a little thing to snack on later.   
Just as he had his hand on the door the bell chimed, drawing his attention to another customer. Looking over his shoulder he was almost shocked to see Fury standing there. Turning himself around to be facing the voodoo king full on he tilted his head to the side as he raised a brow at the other who was paying him no attention, his sharp green gaze just wandering around the store briefly before they finally moved to him.   
He really had no idea what to say, and anything he tried to think of just wasn't passing by his lips as he waited until the slightly shorter male was up at his counter before moving there himself. What was he supposed to say to the guy who had kissed and ran not even seconds after Aster found out he was the owner of the freak show store next door? Would it be appropriate to say, 'hey, so you wanna practice that kiss again? But this time on the lips and maybe in privet?' or would it be better to ask something along the lines of, 'My dog died when I was eight and I buried his favourite chew toy with him. Can you ask him if he plays with it in the after life?'   
Hm... he had a feeling neither of those would work.   
“Do you have anything cold?”   
Well...that was one way to start a conversation...  
Fury must have noticed how much the question threw him off because he seemed to chuckled for a moment as he ran his fingers through his slightly damp hair.  
“I know, it's a weird question, but Meatlug thought it was a little cold and tried to turn up the furnace. No one told her that it's broken though and she snapped the nob for it right off so we can't turn it down and no one can come in and fix it until tomorrow.”  
Slowly nodding his head in understanding Aster didn't have a hard time in believing that at all, the building was beyond old, it was no wonder if something didn't work. Still, it was kind of funny, and there was no way he could stop the small snicker from passing by his lips. Fury caught it though and just rolled his eyes as he shoved his hands in his pockets and shifted over to lean against the counter.   
“Yeah, yeah, I know. We're a bunch of dumbasses. Thanks.”   
“I didn't say anything.” Aster grinned as he put his hands up in the air in his own defence. “That all came from you. As for the cold things though...” He muttered as he tried to think of anything he had.   
Other than his freezers and fridge though there wasn't much. At all. He might have had a tray of ice somewhere, or maybe even an ice pack, but that would be it. Unless...  
“I might have a fan somewhere.” He said as he turned back to the door that lead him to the back. “Just give me a second.”   
Walking through the door he was a little shocked to see that almost every single cookie he had made was gone. Turning to the kids who already seemed to twitch with the sugar that was running though their system as they spoke in rapped secession he nearly cured himself for putting icing on them. That was just a terrible idea from the start. They were going to be so full of energy soon.   
“Hey Hic, your brothers out front if you want to see him.”   
“Toothless!” Hiccup suddenly squealed before dashing out quicker than Aster could blink.   
Either that kid's mind was completely wired from the sugar, or he wasn’t the only one that suffered an odd nickname thanks to his brother. Than again these people just seemed to have a weird thing for names. Meatlug? Who the hell named their kid that?   
“Bunny can I keep him?” Jack asked as he leaned across the counter to watch as his brother opened the storage door that might have been hiding the fan. Before answering his question Bunny disappear though the door for a moment before coming back out and placing it next to the table.   
“Think his brother might skin you alive for that one, and he's not an animal Jack.” Aster said as he reached over and ruffled the boy's hair before moving over to the fridge. “Kid does seem nice though, from the few seconds I got with him.”  
“Nice? Yeah maybe at first.” Jack giggled.   
Aster stared at his brother for a moment, ice tray and pack in hand as he watch his little brother break down into a fit of laughter. Yeah, way to much sugar in that icing...  
“He's such a little sass bucket.”   
“Right.” Was all Aster could say before the boy they were talking about ran through the door and stopped on his heels when he saw the older male standing there looking down at him.   
“Um, ah, W-would you mind if I gave some to Toothless?” He asked, and assuming Toothless was his brother and not some rabid animal, Aster nodded his head.   
“Thank you!” Hiccup grinned, snatching what was left over and dashing out the door again this time followed by Jack as well.   
Sighing slightly to himself he placed the pack on top of the ice tray and used his free hand to grab the fan. When he had everything he needed he moved back to the front.   
He didn't know what to say when he entered a room that seemed to be packed. School girls and a few boys all crowded around Fury who looked as if he didn't know to attack or bolt while trying not to bite anyone that came to close. He was chewing on a cookie but Aster could tell that he really wished he could chomp down on some of the kids heads as they flirted and swooned over him openly, some even standing just a little to close.   
Jack and Hiccup were the only ones that didn't seem to be bothered with the people, having to much fun trying to see if they could serve anyone, without Aster's permission, he was so going to have to talk to Jack about that after. For now though, he probably should save Fury.   
“Eh Fury!” He called over the horde of terrible teenage flirting, quickly catching the others attention.   
The dark haired male seemed to let out a sigh of relief before he excused himself politely from the group of kids, who Aster was sure didn't like him very much at this moment once he saw the glares, and made his way to him. Fury still seemed to be holding a few of the cookies in his hand and the store owner sighed before nodded his head in the direction of the front.   
“Come on, I'll help you carries these over.”   
Fury looked a little shocked at first, turning his head to watch as Hiccup fumbled with putting cookies in a bag while Jack laughed maniacally as he slathered mustered all over a piece of bread. Next he looked over at the group of teens who seemed to be deciding if they should try and continue flirting or if they should just order something already like normal people and not hormone driven kids. Shaking his head he turned back to Aster with a small smile, gently taking the items from his hands with a bit of difficultly.   
“No thanks, you seem to have your hands full here, and um, sorry about Hiccup.” He muttered, nodding over to his brother who was running around looking for the last cupcake that someone had just ordered, not able to find it even though it was right in his hand. “And the cookies were great by the way, thanks.”   
Aster just nodded his head, already missing the only sane person that seemed to be in this crazy house at this current moment in time. Sadly though he didn't get to watch him leave, as much as he would have loved looking at his ass, because of Jack. In an attempt to try and get some mayo out of one of the bottles he shot it all over the person he was serving, and than laughed in his face about it.   
This was going to be a long day. 

(>^.^)> Hugs

“So what did he say?” Aster asked as he finished wiping up the table they had been using.   
Jack allowed the door to swing shut behind him, letting out a loud sigh, his shoulders sagging forward as he made his way over to his brother.   
“He said no.” The boy muttered, plopping himself down on the chair at the table Aster had freshly cleaned before dropping his chin on the table top.   
The grey haired male simply chuckled softly, patting the boy's silky white hair as he sulked and whined over the loss of his friend for not being able to spend the night. From the little he'd heard about Fury and from what Fury had said he wasn't surprised that he said no. Although he was surprised to hear that he had allowed Hiccup to come over in the first place, especially after stopping in and seeing what a mad house it was earlier.   
“Well at least he got to stay for dinner.” Aster chuckled while Jack sighed again and rolled his eyes.   
Dinner itself hadn't been to interesting. The two had been so wiped out from all their energy used earlier that he was shocked to see that neither of them fell face first into the spaghetti he'd made. Hiccup hadn't been to talkative at first either. Mostly just mumbling one or two word answers to anything Aster asked. It wasn't until he asked about what the boy wanted to do with his future that the boy started rambling. It had been interesting, or it would have been if he could have understood any of it, but Hiccup seemed happy and Jack couldn't stop nodding his head along with him and agreeing with him so he guessed it was all good.   
The kid seemed nice though, and he definitely got Aster's seal of approve for kids that Jack hung out with.   
“Are you going to be okay on your own tonight?” Aster asked suddenly, moving to wipe down the rest of the tables, hoping that he would be able to close up soon and head home.   
It wasn't a date, he would never date a freak show shop owner, but that didn't mean that he wanted to smell like a food store and that he couldn't look nice. Nope, it had nothing to do with trying to impress Fury at all.   
“Why?” Jack asked, suddenly sitting up as he narrowed his eyes at his brother, dropping his chin into his hand.   
“No reason really.” Aster said carefully, walking over to the counter and giving it a quick wipe down. “I've just made plans tonight and I want to make sure you'll be alright.”   
“With who?” Jack questioned as he got up from his chair and followed after his brother as Aster made his way to the back of the store, into the kitchen.  
“No one Jack.”   
“You just said you made plans. You don't make plans without people.” Jack muttered as he cut in front of Aster, a full blown smirk covering his face. “So who is it?”   
Throwing the cloth in his face Aster gave a quick scan around the room to see it he had missed any dishes from earlier. Looking around the room and seeing that everything was squeaky clean he nodded his head happily before turning around and... getting a faceful of damp rag. Peeling it off his face and tossing it into the laundry bin with the others he turned his attention back to his little brother who was grinning up at him.   
“You have a date don't you?”   
His face flared at even the thought of it before he pushed passed Jack and out the door. Walking over to his cashier he popped it open and slid the cash holder out before walking over to his mini office. He'd already counted his tills for the day and checked over the orders, so after putting this away he should have been good.   
“Oh my god you do!” Jack exclaimed as he pulled on Aster's arm, a huge smile over his face. “Do I know him? Who is he? Is he nice?”   
“Jack.” The older brother growled. “Can I trust you at home on your own for a few hours or not?”   
Jack let out a huge sigh, swaying backwards as he put his hands in the air and rolled his eyes again.   
“Fine.” He muttered, allowing his brother to brush by him so he could lock up the cash before he locked up the office. “But why won't you tell me who it is?” He pouted while Aster just chuckled.   
“Why do you care?” He asked as Jack crossed his arms over his chest and stuck his chin out sharply.   
“If you're going to be seeing this guy, than I want to make sure that he's good enough for you, and if he's not than he'll have to deal with me.”   
Aster stared at his brother for a moment. The fourteen year old wasn't scary enough looking to intimidate anyone, but it was still kind of sweet that he thought he could. Reaching out he placed his hand on his little brother's shoulder as a smile worked it's way to his face. Jack was already blushing hard but he refused to look embarrassed as he narrowed his eyes even more.   
“How about this, if tonight goes well, I'll introduce you to him at the end of the week.” The older boy suggested while Jack pressed his lips together tightly, seeming not to like the idea of having to wait.  
“Fine. But even if it doesn't go well I still want to know who it is.” Jack said as he waved a finger in his face before his smirk was back.   
“I'll think about it.” Aster said, leading the way to the door with Jack following close behind. 

(>^.^)> Hugs

When Fury had stopped by to pick something up to help cool down his shop, Aster had thought that maybe it was a little hot. There was no way that he thought that it was even possible for it to get this much unbearable heat. As he drew nearer to the store though, heading back after his shower and his sharp gaze on his little brother as he did his homework, he could already feel the sweat gathering across his brow.   
Hookfang was standing outside again, this time no cigaret in either his hand or his mouth. Instead of the extra added heat he was leaning against the door frame, shirtless, and looking up into the sky as his tongue lolled out of his mouth, sweat pouring down his face and chest. As he drew closer Aster peeled off his own jacket that he had snatched up for the breezy weather outside, which he found he had no use for the closer he came.   
“You guys almost closed up in there?” He questioned, drawing the man's attention away from the skies and towards him.   
“Oh, lookie who it is. It's rabbit boy. Sup cotton tail?” Hookfang chuckled, a lazy smile coming to his lips as he crossed his arms over his chest.   
Frowning at the well built male Aster couldn't stop his eyes from roaming over the others chest, taking in the scars that littered across it in interest. Where had he gotten those? Some of them were thin and long, barley raising the surface with there white lines that were scatter over him like snowflakes. Other scars were wider, uglier, angry reds and dark pinks with gagged tissues that looked as if they would still throb in pain even to this day. Hookfang must have noticed his gaze though as he cleared out his throat and moved Aster's attention back to his hard golden gaze.   
“If you're smart, you won't ask.”   
“Wasn't going to.” Aster shrugged while Hookfang narrowed his gaze, tilting his head to the side. “What you guys do or have done is non of my business.”   
The man seemed to watch him carefully for a moment, almost as if he was trying to sum him up. After awhile though he eased up, leaning back into the frame, his eyes till watching, still evaluating.   
It wasn't that Aster wasn't curious as to what had happened to the man, he looked like he'd been through hell. However, as curious as he was he could also respect the privacy of someone who didn't want to tell their secrets.   
“Hookfang! You asshole!”  
Neither of them had time to move before someone gave him a strong kick to his upper shoulder, sending him flying out the door and landing face first on the cement ground. Snapping his head back up to see who had assaulted the man Aster felt his jaw drop when a woman was standing there, and boy did she look pissed.   
She had long blond hair that had streaks of blue and a tasteful orange running all though out it. It went down to her lower back, but it was mostly plastered to her sweat dripping body as was the rest of her clothing that showed off her large curves. Her eyes were also yellow, but unlike Hookfang's dark gold ones they seemed to be lighter, almost as if they were drops of sun rays. She was pretty, there was no denying that, but she also looked as if she was about ready to kill someone at any moment.   
“What the hell Hookfang! You left me in there to finish that all by myself and ran out here!? You lazy son of a...”  
“Oh come on Stormfly!” Hookfang snapped as he pushed himself off of the ground and onto his feet in mere seconds, his shoulders hunched and teeth bared. “You were fine. Big strong girl like yourself. What do you need me for?”   
Her glare sharpened so much that Aster felt as if he'd been cut just from the sight of it.   
“You're right.” She said, her voice eerily calm as she walked up to him and with an air of grace around her. “What do we need you for?”   
Aster felt himself winch when not even a second later and a fist had slammed into the side of Hookfang's face, knocking him clean off his feet and crashing to the ground. She only stared at him for a moment longer as he hissed in pain before turning her attention to Aster.   
“I'm friendly!” He shouted, throwing his hands in air.  
There was no way that Aster was a coward, but he wasn't an idiot either, and if there was one thing he knew better than Jack's crush on Hiccup, it was how to choose his battles.   
“You his friend?” She asked, her voice sharp and to the point, like a knife that had him pinned to the spot.   
“Oh god no.” He muttered, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the building. “I'm- uh, I'm supposed to show Fury around town tonight.”   
And his blush was back. Great. It seemed to take him forever to get rid of it after Jack. This wasn't a date. He had no reason to blush. He was just being a nice guy, showing a very sexy man around town.   
“Oh! You're Aster!” She exclaimed, jumping up to him and clasping his hands in hers tightly. “You're taking Fury out tonight right?” She grinned, and he could only nod his head at her eye blinding smile.   
“Fury's got a date tonight? He didn't tell me that!” Hookfang snapped as he got up once more, his cheek already a bright angry red.   
“It's not a date!” Aster put in, going completely ignored by them both as Stormfly smirked at the male blond.   
“Well unlike you, me and Fury actually enjoy each others company, so of course he's going to tell me things.” She sneered before turning her attention back to Aster. “I'll go get him for ya, just you wait one second.” She smirked, disappearing back into the shop in a flurry.   
“Pysco” Hookfang grumbled to himself as he pushed back his damp hair, glaring towards the dark sky. After a long sigh though he turned back to Aster and slowly made his way over to him. “So, you and Fury are going out tonight hm?” He chuckled as he through an arm around Aster's shoulders, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips, one that the sliver blunet didn't like in the least. “You hurt one hair on his head, and I rip out everyone of yours.” Hookfang growled, and maybe Aster was just imagining things, but he could have sworn that his eyes slitted and that they shone for the briefest of moments. “Understand?”   
Frowning tightly at the taller male Aster slipped under his arm and took a few steps back, silently appreciating the fact that it was further away from the source of the heat.   
“It's no wonder you all work at this place. It suits oddballs like you.” Aster hissed as he hunched up his own shoulders.   
Hookfang just eyed him, staring emptily before a wicked smirk curled his lips upwards and his eyes narrowed.   
“Oh, you have no idea.”   
Aster had no idea why, but he felt as if something was off about that. Normally when people said that it was used in really corny movies or books, but it just seemed odd coming from Hookfang. As if there was a danger there that had the power to rip you to pieces but was kept under lock and key. As if he seemed to know something the whole world didn't. As if their entire life was set up as a lie and they were merely playing the rolls people wanted them too. The words were a threat, not a warning, not a statement, but a full blown threat. A sentence that Aster couldn't comprehend the raw power behind, a sentence that he didn't really want to figure out.   
“What are you guys doing all the way over there?”   
Aster almost wanted to jump in relief now that Fury was here and they could leave this circus box for something a little more normal, but the moment that he turned to the other male he felt his mouth go dry.   
Apparently Fury had also decided to ditch the shirt while he'd been inside, and Aster would be lying if he told anyone that he didn't feel like running to the guy's house and steal all of his shirts just so he could see this sight every day. A hard looking six pack that came from hours of hard work and no doubt hardcore exercise, cute little nubs that were perking in the sudden temperature change as he drew closer to the two, sharp hip bones that he couldn't help but imagine tracing his fingers over teasingly. He also had scars that ran over his otherwise flawless skin looking very much like Hookfang's. His hair was plastered to his neck along with his bangs, his face flushed a light red from working so hard, and although Aster knew that was the reason for it, it didn't stop his brain from working up images of Fury spread out on a bed, sweaty, flushed, and shirtless for a whole different reason.   
Banishing the thoughts from his mind though he forced himself to come back to reality as Fury slipped his shirt back over his head. He knew it was normal to think things like that, especially when looking at good looking people that he was interested in, but he was going to have to shimmer it down a bit. Fury just wanted a tour, and that's what he was going to get, this was not a date, or a chance to have something start between them, it was just one guy showing another around town. Another guy who just happened to be really hot and have an adorable way of flirting that was also sexy, and who cared about his brother as much as Aster cared about his own and...  
“...about time you got laid.”   
Blinking himself back into the here and now Aster just managed to catch the last part of the sentence before Hookfang got a sharp kick in his shin for his opinion.   
“Not everyone thinks like you do Hook, now go help Meatlug, and actually help Stormfly this time.” Fury said, his voice carrying an odd sort of authority that Aster wouldn't have expected from him.   
Hookfang seemed to back down for this one, apparently knowing better than to challenge Fury even if he was the smaller between the two. Throwing one last glare to Aster, Hookfang nodded his head to the black haired male before making his way back inside. The two were alone once again, although Aster didn't feel very alone, he felt as if somehow people were still watching, and he eyed the curtain blocked window suspiciously. Fury seemed to know what he was doing though as he chuckled at the deli owner for a moment.   
“Ya, their watching.” He said turning back to the shop and flicking out his hand as if he was shooing away an annoying insect. “Get back to work you guys!” He shouted, and Aster almost let out his own snicker when he heard a few things fall over in their haste to run away from the door.   
“So, you're like the ringleader of the crazy house?” He asked, making Fury turn back to him with a smile across his lips.   
“Hm, something like that.” He agreed before slipping his hands into his pockets, his smirk sliding down to a friendly looking smile. “You mind if we run to my house really quick? I was going to go home earlier and take a shower, but we got swamped and than a huge shipment came in and it's been taking us all day to do.”   
“Is that what they're working on in there?” Aster asked as he turned back to the building while Fury started walking in the direction of his home.   
“Among other things.”   
He didn't seem to want to say anything more than that as Aster followed behind him, walking faster until he was in step with the other.   
“So I have a question for you.” He said, Fury nodding his head to show that he heard him as he closed his eyes, seeming to be enjoying the evening breezy. “If it's so hot in there, than why don't you guys just cast a cooling spell or something.”  
He waited for the other to answer, Fury turning to him with his eye narrowed but the corner of his lips twitching upwards.   
“You're mocking me aren’t you?” He said, chuckling good naturally while Aster shrugged.   
“Maybe just a little.” He admitted, earning himself a light shove with Fury's shoulder.   
“You shouldn't do that, I'm know to get even with people.” Fury grinned, his eyes glinting for just a moment.  
Aster almost couldn't stop his stomach from flipping as his mind told him to turn away and his body told him to never let the little devil out of his sight.   
“Besides,” Fury added, turning his attention forward first, a smug grin spreading over his lips before he continued, “you didn't seem to mind coming over to see me shirtless.”   
Not even a tomato could compete with the harsh blush that covered his face in such a short amount of time that it seemed insistent. He choked on his tongue, not knowing what to say as Fury snickered evilly beside him. Turning away from the male at his side he rubbed at his face for a moment and than tried to regain some of his dignity.   
“You're not all that.” He finally put in while Fury just scoffed and rolled his eyes.   
“Um hm,” The darker male hummed, spinning around so he was walking backwards and blocking the others view, “if that's true than you might want to wipe off the corner of your mouth there bud.”   
Aster's hand shot to his lips quickly, his eyes going wide when he felt a slight wetness at the corner before his blush turned even darker, if that was even humanly possible. Pressing the back of his hand against his mouth the rubbed at his lips furiously, his shame only growing when Fury snickered and moved back to his place beside him.   
Scowling at the embarrassment that the other cause he rolled his shoulders back as he tried to think of anything he could do to get him back. Any idea of pay back fled his mind though when Fury shivered almost violently, the sweat across his skin quickly cooling down and freezing him now that he was no longer trapped in the heat. Without thinking Aster withdrew his jacket that he still had under his arm and gently draped it over Fury's smaller shoulders.   
Fury seemed shocked by the action as he turned to face the other, not seeming to know what to say when someone was being sweet rather than swayv. When he went to go take it off Aster simply placed a hand on his shoulder, halting the movements moments before they could start.   
“Don't. I'd rather not have you freeze to death out here. It would be no fun if you caught hypothermia, and I think the blond chick would kill me.” Aster chuckled as he through an arm around the guys shoulders, only to help warm him up of course. Or at least that's what he was going to tell himself anyways.   
“Yeah, she probably would.” Fury chuckled, his voice sounding softer than it had before as he pulled the jacket securely around his shoulders. “Thanks.”   
Aster had no idea why, but he felt like that simple thank you sounded better than all of the flirting they had been doing since they met. Grinning to himself happily he just chuckled as he pulled the boy slightly closer.  
“You're welcome Fury.”


	4. Chapter 4

Do You Believe In Magic  
Chapter 4

“So this is my house.”   
Aster couldn't stop his mouth from slipping open as he stared up at the monstrosity that they called a building before him. His mind almost couldn't comprehend the pure size as he stared at the countless windows, only some of them filled with light that poured onto the dark street while the tall gates pointed upwards and curled around in a design that reminded him of sharped toothed snakes. Snarling and poisonous. There were towers on each side of the building, looking to much like stiff soldiers at the ready to defend against the enemy. The colours were deep browns and blacks, giving off the illusion of a log house made for giants.   
“You coming?”   
Snapping his mouth shut so fast he could hear his teeth clinking Aster nodded his head and followed the other through the gate. The iron doors slid shut door trapping them inside as if it was a prison and they were signing away their life. Screams seemed to sudden;y fill the air, making Aster jump while Fury just let out a long sigh.   
“Oh ya, the others.”   
'Others', what did he mean by others?   
“Um, normally I don't invite people to my house without knowing them for awhile,” Fury said sounding slightly awkward at the mention of it. Aster understood though, he was the same way, he didn't enjoy inviting strangers over all that much either. “but um, you did say you were going to show me around and I didn't want to blow you off or anything but a shower is something I really need right now so, you're going to have to meet the rest of the group a little early.”   
“Sounds like fun.” Aster muttered.   
He could already imagine being introduced to a whole crack head family, each of them casting different bullshit spells and trying to curse him if he so much as put one toe out of line. It was going to be so hard to bite his tongue here. He was basically going to have to pretend he was a mute. What would the inside look like though? Would they all be decked out in robes? Or would they be wearing something more along the lines of modern hippies? Was there a sacrifice going on? Was that the reason for all of the screaming?   
“Sounds like Gobber's at work.” Fury sighed again as they drew nearer to the high towers that they called doors.   
Gobber. He gave up. Sure he'd given up along time ago on understanding these people and their thing for weird names but he really gave up now. Stormfly, and Hookfang weren't to bad, but Gobber, Meatlug? Hell, even Toothless? He didn't even know what to think of 'Hiccup'. Who was naming these guys? A jester?   
As Fury pushed the door open Aster jumped out of the way, narrowly missing the flying body that came crashing out and landed in an ungraceful heap at the mouth of the door. The guy was stocky, with big arms and shoulders and dark brown hair that seemed to stick out a bit like a haystack. He seemed a little bit dazed as he laid there for a moment, looking up at the dark sky as if it held some answer that he wasn't looking for but was interested to know. After a moment though he shook his head and sat up on his elbows, waving a hand in the air to the people that were still inside.   
“I'm okay!” He yelled back to the people inside the room who sounded like they hadn't asked or even bothered to stop what they were doing.   
It was only than that he seemed to even notice the other two as his gaze grew wide at Aster before narrowing at Fury.   
“Oh, you're home.” He mumbled with a roll of his eyes before letting out a groan as he got to his feet. “Go figure that you send yourself home before Hookfang. You're probably over working the guy again aren’t you? Well you should know...”   
“Oh get over yourself Snotlout.” Fury said with a roll of his eyes as he pushed the slightly shorter male back into the house while Aster bit down on his tongue.   
He so wasn't going to say anything about the name but....  
“Do any of you guys have normal names?” He blurted out, making the other two halt before turning to face him.   
“Who is this guy anyways?” Snotlout questioned, narrowing his eyes at the taller male before crossing his arms. “I'm not sure if I like him.” He huffed.  
Aster narrowed his own gaze but before he could say anything Fury had the boy by the ear and was dragging him back inside, cocking his head in the direction so that the store owner would know to follow him.   
His mouth fell open at the sight of a large amount of kids that were kicking each others asses or getting their asses kicked. Just what kind of family did Fury come from? He was really going to have to tell him to be careful to never piss of Hiccup. He was actually a little shocked when he saw the young brunet tossing a thin, but strong looking blond girl over his shoulder. Hiccup was so focused he didn't even seem to notice that he was there, but sadly he didn't seem to notice the girl catch herself and turn back on him, tackling him to the ground and slamming his face into the floor.   
“Gobber,”   
Fury's voice was the one that drew his attention back as he turned to see a man standing off to the side, his one human hand on his hip and his other hand, that seemed to be some sort of heavy metal prosthetic, waving around wildly as if he was instructing. Hearing his name being called though he turned back to face the two older male's with a wide gaping smile over his breaded face.   
“Ah Fury! Home already!? Isn't it a tad early lad?” He said as he hobbled over on his pegged leg.   
Aster almost couldn’t tare his eye's away from the sight. A pegged leg? What was this guy? A pirate?   
“It's almost ten thirty Gobber.” Toothless groaned as he dropped his head in his hands. “Why are the kids still up?”   
“Ten thirty?” Gobber repeated, his hand coming up to rub at his chin, as if the time was something they could debate about. “That time already hm? Well what's the problem Fury? They don't have school tomorrow right?”   
“No they don't.” Fury agreed as he shrugged the jacket off his shoulders while he walked towards the spiral staircase that Aster just seemed to notice. “But I have them tomorrow and I would prefer if they're well rested. They're going to be up really early.”   
“Ho, you're a cruel man Fury.” The older man chuckled as he shook his head before turning away from them and back to the large group of teens. “Alright kids...!  
“What is going on here?Are you training little ninjas or something?” Aster questioned as he followed up after the night black haired male, not being able to help how much darker he looked against the marble white of the stairs.   
“Hm, something like that.” Fury said, throwing a smirk over his shoulder as he continued upward.   
Aster rolled his eyes, but they came to a slow halt when they landed on the others ass. He almost couldn't stop a small smirk of his own as he continued to admire it, Fury being completely oblivious as they continued up until they had come to the landing of the second floor.   
“They're not supposed to be practising here though, I had no idea they would be innnn, seeing something you like?”   
Shaking his head Aster snapped his bright green up to toxic and felt his face go a little red upon realizing he'd just been caught. Trying to play it off though he shrugged his shoulders as he placed his hands in his pockets and held his ground.   
“I was just thinking if you're going to be training them tomorrow, and this seems like a normal thing, you've got to have a nice ass in those jeans.” He answered honestly, trying to see if it would throw the shorter male off any.   
Fury just crossed his arms though as he turned to face Aster, lazily leaning back against the banister as he brought one foot up to rest against the railing post.   
“You could come join us if you wanted, although I think you'd spend most of you time on your own ass or your back.” He snickered while Aster scoffed right back, taking a step closer ducking his head a little so they were at the same eye level.   
“Oh please.” He said, his voice seeming to gently caress the boy's cheeks. “I think, if it was between us, we both know who would be on their back.”   
Fury simply tutted, lightly trailing his fingers up Aster's chest, leaving unseen goosebumps in their wake.   
“Don't be so sure of yourself, I've got a few tricks.”   
“I'm sure you do.”   
“Sweet baby Thor in a thunderstorm.”   
Aster jumped back quickly, snapping his gaze around to face who had spoken. He didn't know what to say when he saw the small blond from before standing at the front of the group of kids with her arms crossed over her chest and her hip pushed out as if they were the most annoying thing she'd ever come across.   
“Why don't you just get a room Fury?”   
The rest of the kids around her seemed just as annoyed or amused, two of them, both girls from the looks of it...maybe... were even trading a wade of money from one hand to the other as if they had made a bet on something. Snotlout, the kid from earlier, was grumbling to himself before breaking away from the group and marching down the hall, shooting Aster a strong glare before he passed. A much bigger boy, with such small legs that he almost resembled a two stick candy apple, looked as if he didn't care one way or the other but seemed to think the whole thing was a little awkward as he stuck close to the girl. Hiccup on the other hand seemed the most shock. His mouth hanging open so wide that a whole ship could probably fit though it with no problem and his eyes so wide they seemed to be dinner plates.   
“Aster? What are you..? Toothless what is...? But I just thought.... Didn't you...?” His thoughts seemed to come to him all at once, not being able to finish one before he started the other.   
“We're not dating.” Fury put in quickly as he took a step away from Aster in order to approach the kids with his arms up.   
“Really? Sure looks like it.” The blond scoffed as she zeroed in on the silver haired male from over Fury's shoulder.   
Aster knew that she was small, and at least six years his junior, but her gaze made him want to curl up and hide or run for the hills. She looked like she could really do some damage if she wanted to with those weapons she called hands.   
“Ya well adults work differently than kids. Now get to bed, all of you. You're gonna have a long day tomorrow.”   
“But I thought that you...”   
“Now.”  
That seemed to drop their argument as Hiccup's shoulders slouched at the gaze of his brother. Each of the kids took a turn to stare at Aster some ore. Almost as if they were sizing him up like Hookfang had been earlier, and couldn't tell if he was really going to be a threat or not. Finally one of the twins nodded their head, seemingly to themselves since no one had said anything.   
“Ya, I could take him.”   
To offended by the comment he overlooked the fact that the one who had said it had been male before his sister joined in.   
“Totally.”   
“We all could take him guys, it wouldn't even be that hard.” The blond sighed, already seeming bored with them both as she also headed down the hallway.   
Opening his mouth to say something he didn't have any time before Hiccup was running up to him and gently poking his arm.   
“So do you know than?” He asked, his wide green eyes looking creepily like Fury's as he stared up at the much taller male.   
“Know about what?” Aster questioned, raising one brow, his eyes quickly darting up to look at Fury who seemed to have frozen in place.   
“Oh!” Hiccup said, a forced chuckle leaving his lips as he rocked back on his feet with his hands up. “Nothing. Hey, tell Jack hi for me will you? Bye Aster.”   
Overwhelmed would have been an understatement of the year as he turned to watch the little troupe of kids march down the hall, some of them shoving each other and some just talking normally as they went on their way. He knew that Fury would have an oddball group, but he had no idea that their would also be such a large number of people. It seemed like every time that he met someone new, two or three more people would pop out of no where and scrutinize him. He'd thought that maybe he would have stumbled upon a cult when he followed Fury. Now he was worried he'd marched into some weird government experiment gone wrong.   
Fury just walked up to him though, acting as if nothing was out of the normal, and maybe to him it wasn't. Still, Aster would have loved some answers.   
“So, you guys all related?” He muttered, shoving his hands back in his pockets.   
“No.” .  
That was the only answer he got, nothing more as Fury continued on his way, his lips curled up in an infuriating smirk.   
“Alright than.” Rolling his eyes he continued after the male, his eyes darting from one door to the next as they made their way down the never ending hallway that just seemed to stretch on and on as if they were on the yellow brick road.  
So far, Fury had been like nothing he'd expected when he'd laid eyes on the new voodoo store. There were plenty of things he'd come to assume, and all for good reason from the people he'd met. This guy though? There as just something about him that made the hairs on the back of Aster's neck stand on end, but his heart hammer like it was about to bust loose from the prison of his ribs that he'd trapped it in for years. Fury just seemed to have a way about him, and he hadn't even known the guy all that long, he just wished he knew what it was so he could figure out the jigsaw that was the magic man.   
“You know I'm sorry about this.” Fury sighed, drawing closer to a door that seemed to stand out from the rest.   
It didn't take Aster long to pinpoint why it looked so strange, it was covered early head to foot in scorch marks.   
He was so focused on the door that he almost didn't hear what the other had said before he noticed that the dark haired male was staring at him with a small frown.  
“I didn't think any of them would be awake right now, and I had no idea that the furnace would break and that we'd all be a sweaty mess, I guess I should have asked for a rain check hm?” He mumbled, his eyes darting downwards for a moment as Aster chuckled slightly.   
“Hey it's okay. It's just nice to hang out with someone for once who isn't only fourteen and all they talk about is video games and pranks.” He assured him, loving the smile that came to Fury's face as his eyes moved back up to catch with his own. “We can plan for it later if ya'd like, maybe even go catch a show or something.”   
“Hm,” Fury hummed as he leaned against his door, his eyes closing to half mass as he tilted his head to the side, “sounds like it' moving from simple tour guide to date.”   
Aster moved back a little, looking towards the roof as if he was thinking over the idea. Really his mind had already been made up the moment the words had left his own mouth. Voodoo king or not, Fury was hot, and a nice and pretty interesting guy. Who in their right mind wouldn't want in on that? All he had to do was keep them from talking about anything to do with 'other worldly' things and they should be just fine.   
“If it was, would you say yes?”   
Oddly enough Fury was silent. He really seemed like he was thinking about it. As if Aster had given him a real reason to say no. As if he hadn't been trying to get up to this point. Now normally, he wasn't a very vain person, but he liked to think that he could make most people say yes in a heartbeat, so watching as Fury bit slightly into his bottom lip was a little bit more nerve racking than he had ever remembered it being.   
After a moment that was long enough a snail would have complained Fury finally looked up at him.   
“Of course I would.”   
Never in his whole life had those words ever made his heart feel so light, or made his cheeks heat up and his head buzz like he'd had a few drinks. He didn't care though, he even liked the feeling as he rubbed at the back of his neck, and worked to wipe the stupid smile off of his face.   
“Cool.”   
It was the only thing he could think to say as a soft chuckle made its way out of his mouth while Fury shook his head, his own smile warming up Aster's heart even more. He didn't have time to move before Fury had slid up and landed a quick peak on his cheek.   
“I'm gonna take a quick shower, but if you want to wait in my room for a few minutes we could go down to the kitchen and I could try and cook something up for you, you know, to make up for tonight and all it's weirdness.” Fury shrugged looking off to the side as if he had suddenly grown shy.   
Aster snicker, reaching out and brushing some of the stray bangs away from the male's captivating gaze.   
“I'd like that.”


	5. Chapter 5

Do You Believe in Magic  
Chapter 5

Waking up that morning he'd let out a dreamy sigh. Getting breakfast ready he'd let out two. As he drove him and Jack to work for the day he ran two red lights and almost got hit by a car. At work he forgot to set up anything and Jack ran around like crazy trying to set everything up for the day on his own. It wasn't until he'd messed up the fifth breakfast order that Jack finally decided to say something.   
“Okay, what's going on with you?”   
Aster blinked himself out of his thoughts, turning his head slightly to look at his little brother who was absolutely fuming.   
“You know normally, I'm completely fine with wasting my whole weekend help you out here,” Jack sassed, throwing his arms out to vaguely gesture to the place around them, “but I'm not okay with you nearly getting us killed twice, and I'm not okay with you completely slacking off at work.” Jack's arms were crossed over his small chest tightly, his cheeks puffed up and his eyes narrowed. When he was like this he meant business.   
Aster never slacked off though. He had no idea what Jack was talking about.   
“I'm sorry Frostbite, what?” He muttered, his brows drawing together as his lips pulled downwards.   
Jack just let out a frustrated groan as he threw his hands in the air and spun around.   
“Oh my god your infatuated!” He growled.  
Turning quickly on his brother Aster nearly jumped out of his skin when Jack marched up to him, a nearly predatory grin spreading over his lips as he waved a finger in his brother's face.   
“Ho, ho, you're thinking of your date last night aren't you? Wow, first date and he's already got you wrapped around his fingers hm?” Jack smirked, knowing he was right when Aster flushed a dark red.   
“Knock off it Jack.” He warned, placing a hand over the boy's face and shoving him out of the way.   
Passing by the white haired teen easily, he made his way over to the cash as he looked through the list of things he was going to have to cook up for tomorrow. He might as well have started on it now so he wouldn't have to worry about it later, and than he could get to his real date that much quicker.   
“No, no, no. This is to good to just drop. What did you guys even do?” Jack said, grinning from ear to ear as he hopped up beside his brother, neither of them minding the customers who were happily eating their, now correct, orders.   
Rolling his eyes Aster just ignored his brother, but he couldn't stop his mind from wandering to what had ended up happening last night...  
“That's not how you do it.”   
Fury growled at him as he dropped the knife he'd been using to cut open the fish, turning on Aster he crossed his arms and allowed a strained looking smirk to grace his features.   
“Alright than, how do you do it?”   
Snickering to himself Aster pushed away from the counter and slid up next to him.   
“Come here and I'll show you.”   
Not without a huge sigh did Fury do as he was told and returned to his place, picking up the knife again. Resting his chin on his shoulder Aster gently wrapped his fingers around the man's hand, gripping the knife in a more secure hold before bringing his other arm around the dark skinned male, wrapping his fingers around Fury's other hand and brushing the tips over his palm before they moved to hold the fish and start over. It was silent for a moment, both of them going through the movements slowly and carefully, slicing up the fish with ease.   
“This is how I was doing it.” Fury muttered after awhile.   
Aster simply buried his chin more into his shoulder as he gently nudged his nose against the boy's throat.   
“I know.”   
“Ah,” Fury said, a small grin working its way over his face as he leaned back a little bit more, “smooth.”   
....  
“Bunny! Bunny! Hello! Earth to big ears!”   
Aster flinched away from his brother so violently that he forgot how close he was to one of the shelves that he'd been near and slammed his head against it. Groaning he held the side of his head and glared at the evil wood as if it had jumped out and attacked him rather than being the one attacked by the side of Aster's head. Turning his sharp glare to Jack, who was covering his mouth in order to hold in his own bouts of laughter Aster nearly hissed at his little brother.   
“What?”   
Recovering quickly Jack placed his hands down by his sides as he tilted his head towards the door. Moving his eyes over to where the boy was motioning too Aster rolled his eyes upon seeing Hookfang entering the store.   
“Oh great. It's you.” He muttered, crossing his arms over his chest, ignoring the dull throbbing in his head.   
“Is Hiccup here?” Jack questioned, hopping up to the counter, a wide smile blooming over his face at the very thought of the boy.   
Hookfang chuckled, by passing Aster's comment and reaching over to ruffle Jack's white hair playfully.   
“Not yet kiddo, but I'll be sure to send him over the moment he does.” Hookfang grinned as Jack's face lit up like a little firefly in the dark.   
Nearly giddy with just the thought of it Jack hopped away with his eyes glazed over in a dream like state. Aster watched him for a moment, wondering if that's what he had been like earlier this morning. If it was he didn't blame Jack for trying to snap him out of it. Honestly though, if the pair of brothers were this smitten in such a short time by the brothers from next door he was starting to wonder if they actually were witches or warlocks or whatever, and had bewitched the two of them. Shaking his head of the ridiculous thought he turned his attention back to Hookfang who had taken to winking at a group of young girls across the store.   
“I thought your store wasn't open for another few hours.” Aster said, breaking the other out of his failed attempt at wooing the other sex.   
With a shrug of his shoulders Hookfang brushed his blond bangs back and than shook them out again.   
“We're not. And I don't normally come in this early for anything, but I just got wondering.” He said slowly, turning his golden gaze up to Aster as he dropped his hands on the counter. “Just what happened between you and Fury last night?” He questioned.  
Aster just scowled at the blonds nosiness, looking around for a cloth to wipe down the counter....  
“You know I'm going to have to take a guess and say that your favourite food is fish.” Aster said, sitting next to Fury as he nearly purred while chewing on the piece of fish in his mouth.   
“Really?” The black haired male tasked after swallowing while he wiggled his fork in the others face. “Just what gave it away?”   
“Cheeky.” Aster sneered, a smile twitching up at the corners as he shifted in his seat, moving himself a little bit closer before he turned back to his own meal.   
He couldn't help but nearly choke on it in laughter at the look of disgust that Fury shot him from the corner of his eye. Dropping his fork to his plate he sat back in his chair and raised a brow of amusement at the other.   
“Do you have to do that every time?” He snickered, rolling his eyes at the way that Fury shuttered.   
“Yes.” He answered simply before turning back to his own plate. “It's just, fish and syrup? That's just, ew, just no.” He grumbled, sticking out his tongue to emphasize his point.   
Shrugging his shoulders Aster turned back to his own food, happily cutting up another piece.   
“Don't knock it till you try it.” He said, popping the next little piece into his mouth.   
Aster loved to mix syrup with everything he made, and the fish with the syrup was just the best. The sweet taste really brought out the mellow taste of the fish making it seem to dance on his tongue as he bit into it. He also loved the way that it cooked when it was slathered in the sticky treat, and the texture of it was simply amazing. Whenever he eat fish, this was the way he had to do it. Maybe he would even serve it as a special at his place sometime. It might be nice for his customers. A little change to what he normally had.   
So lost in his thoughts on the fish dish was Aster, that he didn't notice the little movement of Fury as he brought himself closer. Just as he cut up another piece of fish he moved to bring it up, and barely got it a few inches away from his mouth before Fury had stolen it with a quick snap of his teeth. He stared at the shiny metal for a moment, wondering how it was even possible to move that fast, before he turned to the male sitting beside him. Fury on the other hand looked as if he was deciding over the taste in his mouth, his eyes narrowed and his jaw slowly moving up and down. After a few moments, he swallowed it, and Aster couldn't help but watch as his adams apple moved up and down oh so teasingly. He really, really couldn't help but wonder if Fury would purr if he bit that.  
“Hm, you know...” Fury said, drawing his gaze back to Aster as a grin pulled up at his lips, “it's not to bad.”   
....  
“Is there anyway I can get you to join us again? Hello? You in there?”   
Snapping his hand out, Aster grabbed a hold of the fingers that were snapping in front of his face. Staring at it for a moment he dropped it and turned to stare at its owner.   
“What were you saying?”   
“Wow.” Hookfang muttered, dropping an elbow on the counter and than dropping his chin in his hand. “Both of you guys have it bad.”   
Scowling down at the blond Aster took a step away from him, throwing the cold cloth in his face for good measure as he leaned against the back counter. Maybe that little bit of chill would wake him up a little.  
“How would you even know about Fury? It's not like he's at work yet.” He questioned while the other male shook the cloth off of his face and picked it up, playing with it between his hands as if it was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen.   
“Well we live together, and if you would have saw him this morning you'd be wondering what went on too. Honestly I've never seen him sleep in this late, especially on a training day.” Hookfang said, tossing the cloth in the air as if it was a pizza. “And than even when he was in training he was all spacy, it was just to weird.”   
Aster just stared for a moment, not able to help but watch as the poor cloth was tossed up and down repetitively. After a moment he walked back over to the counter and snatched the cloth out of the air, moments before it could land in the others hands again. He dropped it not even seconds later however. Yelping at the pain that spread though his fingers and palms at the heat that suddenly bit into his skin, turning it red and tender to the touch.   
“Shit.”   
Snapping his gaze back up to a wide eyed Hookfang, Aster's eyes kept moving from the cloth to him as the blond sucked in his lips for a moment. Seeming to be thinking over what he was going to say before he shoved his hands deeply into his pockets.   
“Um, ah, it's- it's just a little, um it's just a trick.” He stuttered, not seeming to be able to come up with much more than the feeble bullshit.  
Aster just nodded his head in agreement though, since there couldn't have been any other thing to explain it. After all, it's not like it was magic or something.   
He ran that through his mind again and again as he stared at the steaming cloth sitting on the counter between the two. There couldn't have been, and yet... this 'family' was really starting to make him wonder...   
“So I um, I guess I'm not going to get anything out of you so I'll just gooo.” Hookfang said, slowly backing away from the counter as if it was a crime scene and the cloth was the victim that he was accused of killing.   
Not able to get out another word Aster could do nothing other than watch as the blond hightailed it out. With him gone though, his green orbs fell to the cloth once more and than to his own hands that still stung. There was definitely a little something off with that family...  
“Aw, Hookfang left already?” Jack pouted as he popped up beside his brother, his hands on his hips as he stared out the door. “I wanted to ask him something.”   
Aster watched as he reached out for the cloth, but second before his hand made contact he snatched Jack's wrist and jerked it away from the offending object. He had no idea what to say when Jack just stared back at him, looking as if Aster had suddenly grown two heads. Having no idea how he was supposed to explain this to Jack without seeming like some sort of nutcase, or helping to cement the fact that Jack seemed to have in his head about magic, he instead just glared at his brother and pulled his hand away.   
“This ones mine, go get your own.”   
Jack huffed, rolling his eyes as he put his hands in the air in surrender.   
“You're not this possessive with your man friend are you?”   
....  
“Really? That big hunh?” Fury asked as he took another bite out of the pudding in his bowl while Aster nodded his head enthusiastically.   
“I wouldn't lie about it. He was the biggest man I've ever seen!” Aster continued, as if he hadn't been interrupted while he shifted slightly on the large bed they were both sitting on. “He took a swing at me for the comment, but I was a lot faster than him, he wasn't expecting that, and he knocked himself to the ground just from the sheer force of his throw. I didn't see the point in sticking around so I left shortly after that but he was huge.” Aster said as he took another bite of the creamy treat.   
“You don't seem like the running away type.” Fury said, a smile pulling at his lips as Aster suddenly scowled.   
“I'm not.” He hissed, pointing his spoon at the other in warning. “But he was really drunk, and I had no problem with him so I had no reason to fight him.”   
“Ah,” Fury hummed as he nodded his head once more, “a noble fighter than hm?”   
“Is there any other?” Aster chuckled.  
His laughter died shortly though when Fury grew still, much like he had earlier that night. His gaze seemed to shift, as if he was seeing something that wasn't there and the hand wrapped around the spoon tightened until his knuckles had turned white.   
“Yes.”   
Knowing that he'd stepped into unknown territory Aster moved closer to the other until they were pressed hip to hip and through his strong arm around the boy's shoulders.   
“I won't ask.” He muttered, briefly pressing his lips to the top of the night black hair as soon as Fury had opened his mouth to say something.   
It was silent for awhile as they both just sat there. Bowls sitting in their laps and Aster's arm sitting comfortably around his shoulders. Soon though Fury turned to face him, smiling at him sweetly...seconds before plopping a spoonful of pudding on his cheek.   
Caught off guard by the action Aster couldn't do anything other than let his mouth fall open as he stared at the grinning male, his arm sliding off as he rested it against the bed instead.   
“Wha...”  
“Oh, sorry about that.” Fury cooed, placing his bowl down by his side before turning back to Aster. “Here, let me help.”   
Any form of protest that Aster might have had died the moment that Fury's cute little tongue flicked out and started to 'clean up' the mess. He felt his cheeks flush red hot, probably turning the treat from pudding to fondue as Fury continued with his little task, shifting himself so that he had better access to his face, by straddling the silver haired male's lap. Not know where else to put his hands Aster gently laid them on the guy's waist, feeling like he was in the clear when Fury slid his hand up his chest and over his shoulders until they were hanging over his shoulders lazily.   
He nearly growled when he felt Fury lick the corner of his lips, not quiet close enough for his liking, and it was driving him mad.   
“Why do I feel like you're getting closer and closer, but you're not going to bother really kissing me?” He muttered, watching as Fury drew back slightly with a smirk pulling at his lips.   
“Why should I?” Fury grinned, his eyes narrowing wickedly as he bopped their noses together. “You haven't earned it.”   
Oh that cheeky little... two could play that game.   
“Alright fine.” Aster sighed, flopping back on the bed and leaving Fury alone as he crossed his arms behind his head. “Guess I'll just chill than.”   
“Hey.” Fury snickered as he followed after him, resting his hands on either side of the others head. “Not fair.”   
“Says the guy who wiped pudding on my face.” Aster smirked as Fury shrugged his shoulders lightly, licking his lips a little to slowly.   
“I could think of other places to wipe it, other places that would be a little bit more 'fun' to clean off.” Fury grinned as Aster felt his stomach flip.   
Instead of continuing with their banter though Aster brought a hand up to his face and gently ran his thumb over the boy's smooth cheek. Seeming to enjoy the touch, Fury leaned into the hand, his smirk calming down into a softhearted smile, one that Aster only to happily returned. Sure he hadn't know this guy for long, but he had a nagging feeling in the back of his head that there was something different about this one. Something that would make him go to the ends of the earth to keep and something that he would fight to the end to protect. He'd always been a good judge of character, and he could tell that there was definitely something about Fury that he was addicted to.   
“You know, I can't help but think you're going to be the end of me.” Aster said earning himself an eye roll from the one above him.  
“You make it sound like I'm involved in something shady.” Fury grumbled, laying down across the taller male and warming him like a giant blanket.   
“Okay, look at your store and your family. Can you blame me?” Aster said, staring at the ceiling while he ran a hand soothingly up and down the boy's back, feeling the strong muscles under the thin fabric.   
Fury's body vibrated against his as he chuckled softly, burying his head under Aster's chin before letting out a long, relaxed sigh.   
“Good point.” He purred his hands clenching and relaxing in the larger males shirt while Aster moved his hand up from his back to his hair.   
This was nice. This was really nice. Just being able to lay across the bed with someone in his arms was great. He'd forgotten how much he missed this.   
“You're like a giant cat.” He said, mostly to himself as he continued to run his fingers through the others hair.   
Fury scoffed at that, as if the very idea itself was ridiculous.   
“A cat hm?” He muttered, his voice seeming a little heavier than it had been moments ago. He must have been just about ready to go to sleep. “Couldn't be further from the truth.”   
“Really?” Aster asked, his voice light as he tried to stare down at the male in his arms. “Than what would you say you are?”   
“A dragon.”   
There was no hint of hesitance in his voice. Only true fact behind the words that made Aster shake his head and lay back down.   
“Ya, okay, I guess I could see that too.” Aster said, basking in the brief silence that passed between them. “Dragons were treasure hoarders you know.” He added in, something he remembered reading years ago in a child’s book.   
“Does that mean I've got to hide you away?” Fury asked, raising himself up just enough to be able to stare down at the store owner.   
Aster stared at him for a moment. The words sinking in as a smile already started to pull at his lips. Dipping down a little bit he gave a quick peck to Fury's nose before sitting up and bringing the other up with him.   
“If you want.”   
Fury grinned back up at him, happily rubbing his head against Aster's chest and cementing his cat theory before he let out a big yawn and gently rolled off of the silver haired male.   
“You know, you've got to be the cutest little thing I've ever seen.”   
“Rawr.” Fury growled, waving his hands in the air as if they were claws rather than fingers.   
Aster snickered at him, quickly catching one of his hands and intertwining their fingers as Fury smiled at him lazily.   
“You're really tired aren't you?”   
The only answer Fury gave was a low grumble as he pulled against Aster's hand, bringing him just slightly closer.   
“Don't dragons sleep with their treasures?”   
“Cute.” Aster chuckled rubbing their noses together for a moment before he glanced at the night black clock sitting on his side table. Two o'clock seemed to glow a bright red from its place, burning into his brain as he sighed and laid down next to the tan male who wasted no time in burrowing close to him. “Just for a bit. I've got to get back to Jack before morning.”   
...  
“...didn't think you'd get here so quickly!”   
Who was here quickly?   
He barely had time to bring himself back before Jack had zipped himself around the corner and had his arms firmly wrapped around the small brunet who'd just barely took a step in.   
“Hey Hic! You having a great weekend so far?”   
“Yup.” Hiccup said, quickly hugging Jack back before he dropped his arms back down when his brother walked in behind him.   
Jack seemed to take Fury's sharp glare as a hint as he chuckled somewhat awkwardly before snatching Hiccup's wrist instead of his waist.   
“Hey Aster said that he had some things that he needed help working on in the back and I could really use your help too.”   
Without waiting for the other two to respond he dragged Hiccup into the back while Aster's green eyed gaze followed after him carefully.   
He never said a thing like that to Jack this morning...  
“Why do I have a feeling your brother's up to something.” Fury muttered as he walked up to the counter, Aster still keeping his gaze on the door the two disappeared behind.   
“Probably because I don't have anything back there for him to work on and never said as such.” Aster said, turning back to face Fury who rolled his eyes as he blew a strand of hair out of his face.   
“Kid's kind of smooth.” He muttered before he narrowed his eyes at Aster. “Kind of like his brother.”   
“We can't help it.” Aster shrugged, a smile working its way over his face, winking at the dark haired male before him. “You two bring out the worst in us.”   
Fury's frown finally melted away as glanced at the door, a small snicker leaving passed his lips as he shifted his weight over to one foot.   
“Suppose I should be happy that he's at least not as smooth as you. I have a feeling I might need to get Hiccup a chastity belt soon.” He said, a click of his tongue accompanying his words.   
“Oh?” Aster said, reaching out to pick up the cloth before thinking better of it and just crossing his arms instead. “And you're not going to get one for yourself?”   
Toxic green slowly rose up to poison Aster's mind until the only thing he could think about was the man standing in front of him. Slowly drawing himself closer to the counter Fury tipped his head to the side, his eyes sparking with glint of something that made Aster's stomach flip in anticipation as he waited for the words that he was sure to follow.   
“Now where would the fun in that be?”   
Grinning to himself as he shook his head and turned his gaze to the counter briefly he rested his hands beside the cloth as he leaned forward.   
“I'm sure we could think of something.” He said as Fury raised a brow.  
“Really? You think you're that creative?” The dark haired male muttered, scoffing in disbelief.   
Aster only smirk as he slowly reached out a hand and brushed the tips of his fingers over the strong forearm, watching as goosebumps were left in their wake.   
“You have no idea.”   
Fury eyed him for a moment, moving his arm until he was running his fingers over Aster's forearm and up to his elbow, never once breaking their gaze. That was when Aster saw it, or he thought he did. He thought he definitely saw something. He could have sworn that he saw it. He saw Fury's eyes slit, not dilate or anything, but actually slit, like a cat, and, if only for a moment, they seemed to glow, just like Hookfang's had...  
Quicker than he'd seen it though it was gone.   
Noticing that the silence was seeming to get longer though, Fury was obviously having some thoughts he wasn't going to share anytime soon, Aster cleared out his throat.   
“So, you guys getting anything to eat? Anything I could make you?” Aster asked while the male in front of him lightly shrugged his shoulders.   
“No, actually I just came to drop something off to you that you forget to get before you left.” Fury said as the others brows furrowed together.   
He'd forgotten something yesterday? Like what? He hadn't even really brought anything over to Fury's house other than his jacket, and he'd made sure to pick that up before he had slipped out the door. Other than that though there was nothing that was coming to mind at the mention of forgotten items, so what on earth was Fury talking about?  
The younger male however made a small 'come here' gesture with his finger, beckoning Aster to lean over the counter some to hear whatever he was going to say. Before he could do anything Fury had grabbed his face gently with both of his rough hands and brought their faces close. Aster felt his mind blank out on him when he felt a pair of slightly chapped lips press against his own. Just a moment, it only last a few precious seconds before it was over and Fury was pulling back, his face a light shade of pink and a nearly giddy grin spreading over his lips.   
Aster on the other hand was floored, not able to press a single word passed his lips as he just stood there, looking and yet not really seeing anything around him.   
The dark haired male on the other hand snickered before turning his attention to the door his brother had disappeared behind minutes ago.   
“Hiccup! Come on, we're going!” He called out, earning back a small squeak in surprise before the boy was rushing through the door to join his brothers side. Turning his attention back to Aster as he through an arm around Hiccup's shoulder Fury gave him a small wave as he started to the door. “See you later Aster. Maybe we'll stop by for lunch.”   
All Aster could do was wave back, his mind still in a haze over something so simple while the two brothers walked out the door. In no time at all Jack was by his side, looking just as dazed as he was. Neither of the two commented on the others condition, choosing to keep quiet and continuing to bask in the moment they each just had.   
“They're going to be the end of us Jack.” Aster said, his voice still light as the white haired teen nodded his head.   
“Ya.”   
A second later though and Jack snapped out of it as he turned on Aster faster than bad cheese.   
“Wait a second! The guy you were talking about yesterday was Fury! Seriously!?”   
Oops...  
“Shit.”


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
Do You Believe in Magic

“Okay, now you're just going to slowly let it go.” Fury instructed carefully, his shape eyed gaze never once leaving the palms of his little brother's hands.   
Hiccup almost seemed as if he couldn't move though, his breath was coming out short and quick as his large green eyes were glued to his fingertips. His little mouth was hanging open as his brows drew together and the tiniest amount of sparks finally danced across his hands.   
“I can't do this Toothless.” He muttered out quickly, shaking his head without ever taking his eyes off of the surging power that was snaking it's way out.   
Before he could lower his hands though Fury snatched his wrists and forced his brother to look at him.   
“Yes you can Hic. You're going to do fine. Now just breath.” He said as he slowly breathed in and out, bringing the small brunet into the rhythm with him as he continued. “It's going to be okay just stay focused.”   
“Okay, okay, okay, okay.”   
That seemed to be the only word that Hiccup could squeeze out as he trained his gaze more on his hands than anything else in the dark room. With a deep breath his eyes seemed to glow a bright green, lighting up the dull room as Fury slowly let his wrists go and sat back on his heels. He watched as Hiccup pressed his lips into a thin line, his eyes narrowing as the sparks snapped and clawed at the air, appearing for a few seconds before they seemed to disappear into the darkness of the room.   
Soon the random sparks seemed to twist and turn. Moving as if they were trying to form a shape while Hiccup bit down on his bottom lip, little beads of sweat gathering across his brow as the shape came to life. Tips of the wings were the first to appear, followed by a long tail, legs, both back and front, stuck out of the small body in his palms. The head was the last to appear and when it had Hiccup couldn't stop the tiny noise of delight at what was standing proudly in his hands.   
“The Night Fury.” Fury whispered, his own smile forcing it's way across his lips as him and Hiccup locked their gazes.   
Just as quick as the image had come it disappeared, leaving behind nothing other than a strong flash of light before both brothers were left blinking in the darkness. Getting up from his squatting position Fury groped around for the string that was attached to the light switch. Once he located it he gave a simple tug and the small space was soon flooded with light. Turning his attention down to Hiccup he grinned at him as the small boy sat on the ground, his hands shaking from the use of power that had been running through his body seconds ago, but his lips stretched into a full fledged grin as he gazed up at his older brother.   
“We're the same Toothless.”   
Beaming down at the other Fury nodded his head quickly. Soon he was kneeling to the ground again, bringing his hand up behind Hiccup's head and pulling the boy close until their foreheads met.   
“Mom and Dad would have been proud of you Hic.” He said, his gaze narrowing in on the small bout of sadness buried in the depths of his brothers starling green orbs.   
“Ya,” he said, his eyes sliding closed as he dropped his head on his brother's strong shoulder, “I'm sure they would have.”   
Fury let out a small sigh, allowing his brother the time he needed before he patted the boy's back, signalling him to stand. With both of them on their feet Fury ruffled the boy's hair before tilting his head to the door, motioning for the newly made shifter to go first. Hiccup pinched his lips together tightly, his eyes becoming determined as he pushed the door open and than, tripped and landed flat on his face.   
Slapping a hand over his mouth to stop his own laughter, Fury closed his eyes for a moment, taking time to get himself under control before he cleared his throat. Stepping out of the room he grabbed the back of the boy's shirt and hoisted him to his feet. Turning his attention to the five others in the room he gave a proud smile as he nodded his head.   
“Night Fury.”   
The room was completely silent, for about two seconds, after that it was shattered as everyone seemed to come forward at once. Stormfly trapped the boy into a giant hug, nearly squeezing the life out of him before Meatlug joined in with them, giving them both a strong enough hug to almost crush both of their ribs. The twins, Barf and Belch, snaked around the group, getting behind the boy and each ruffling his hair before rubbing their cheeks against his.   
Fury just snickered at the group while he carefully made his way around them, making sure not to interrupt Stormfly's talk of the different flight styles and Meatlug's advice on hovering. With his hands in his pockets he walked up to the only one who stayed back, leaning on the counter as his eyes gazed out the front door, watching for any passersby. Stopping next to him Fury leaned back against the support, bending one leg at the knee to rest his foot against the wall.   
“Guess you'll easy up a bit on him now hm?” Hook said, finally taring his attention away from the door as he turned his golden eyes to the boy beside him.   
Fury simply shrugged though, glancing over at his brother before turning his attention back to the blond male.   
“Maybe.” He muttered, narrowing his gaze as a sudden white haired male came to mind.   
Hookfang simply chuckled though, as if he knew what was going on in his head and just who he was thinking about. Pushing himself away from the counter he pulled a cigaret out of his pocket before placing it between his lips.   
“I'm not going to lie, I thought he wasn't going to get one for awhile.” Fury said, his lips pulling down into a frown as he turned back to his brother once more. “I almost took him out of school actually. I thought that if he did get it, it was going to be during class or something and than everyone might see it, or they could have gotten hurt.”   
“Surprised you didn't.” Hookfang muttered the tip of his thumb lighting up with a small flame that he quickly fed the end of his cig to. “Those pent up late bloomers have a lot of energy.”   
“I stole some of it.” Fury shrugged as he easily snatched the object away from his friend, rubbing the end between two fingers. “He did have a lot but i managed to take most of it so he had better control.”  
The male next to him blinked slowly at his now empty hand while he hummed along with Fury's words.   
“To bad you didn't fry your own ass with it.”   
“I love you to Hook.” Fury muttered back as he pressed the object back in the others hand. “Go smoke that outside jackass.”   
“Uhg, I don't want to.” Hookfang groaned as he dropped his head back. “Every time I do I run into that boytoy of yours.” He grumbled, his words making a splash of colour cover Fury's cheeks while his turned to glare at him. “I mean I see why you put up with dating a human, the guy's hot, I'm not gonna lie, but holy shit Fury, he's an ass.” He grumbled as Fury pushed himself off of the counter and crossed his arms over his chest.   
“And what? No one like us is?” Fury spat out sharply, his eyes glowing as a small amount of power throbbed off of him.   
Everyone jumped when the lights flickered before some of them cracked and shattered, raining down on the empty floors when the others jumped out of the way. Some of the mirrors and other glass objects around the room shattered as well, some of them even pouring different coloured liquids all over the floor that stained the dark wood. One of the support beams let out a loud groan, before a sharp noise rang out, sounding like a gun shot as it snapped and crashed heavily to the ground. Neither Fury nor Hookfang turned away from each other. Neither one of them willing to be the first to drop their gaze. However Hookfang also wasn't an idiot, and dropped his eyes and his head in submission at the smaller male next to him. Fury seemed to take the apologize, nodding his head shortly at the other while the lights stabilized once more, shedding light on the newly made destruction.   
They had just finished working on everything too....  
Turning his attention to the others he felt his frown growing when he noticed that they were going to have to buy some new bulbs and clean up some broken glass before anyone got hurt. He'd almost forgotten the rest of his group was there until Hiccup moved up to his side and gave his older brother a small smile.   
“Um, would you teach me how to shift Fury?”   
It was a useless question. He knew that he would never have to ask Fury that, he would do anything for his little brother no questions asked. In proof he'd even set up a section in the woods for them to practice at the moment Hiccup had shifted. Hiccup wasn't asking that kind of question though, they all knew that something had just pissed him off greatly, Hic was just trying to take his mind off of it.   
Smiling at the small, awkward male Fury nodded his head, a smile blooming over his face as he reached out and wrapped an arm around his thin shoulders.   
“Sure thing Hic.”

(Hugs)

Jack couldn't keep the stupid grin off of his face as he continued to watch the fuming Aster. Sure maybe picking on his brother for his little crush wasn't a very nice thing to do, and it was a crush no matter how much the silver haired adult tried to deny it, but it really was just to good. It seemed like it had been years since his older brother had even really shown any interest in anyone, and he actually seemed kind of taken with this guy. The fact that it was the older brother of the guy he was crushing on didn't hurt either.   
If Jack could get them to go on more and more dates and wire their minds to only think of one another, than he would never have to worry about Fury watching every move he made on Hiccup. He'd be in the clear for wooing the adorable brunet with no interruption. Or creepy background music that seemed to appear whenever Fury was around and reminded him a little to much of a horror movie. That could have been in his head though...  
So, now all he had to do was get his brother to think more and more about Fury, but he had a feeling that would be all to easy. Maybe though, he could get Hiccup in on it too. After all he'd really been sending out the 'vibes' to the kid that he was interested, and if that kiss on the cheek before he ran off was anything to go by Hiccup was really picking up on it and was showing his own level of interest.   
Turning his attention back to his flushed faced brother Jack allowed a wick smirk to crawl over his face as he crossed his arms over his chest.   
“So, what happened last night between you guys?” He asked, loving the way his brothers face got even darker as he scrubbed harder at the already spotless table. “I didn't hear you come home until, like,” Jack hummed his eyes glancing up as he tried to remember when his brother had opened his door to check on him had happened, “two or so maybe.” He finished, grinning evilly as he thought up any reason adults would stay out so late. “You two weren't frick fracking were you?”   
A loud yelp was the only thing to leave his mouth when Aster snapped the cloth at his hand, leaving a bright red mark in its wake.   
“Just where did you learn that kind of language Jack?” He growled as his eyes narrowed sharply at his little brother.   
Frowning before turning to his hand and rubbing at the irritated skin softly he couldn't stop his eyes from rolling.   
“I am in high school.” The white haired teen muttered. “And I'm not a complete idiot.”  
Aster only glared at him even more. Jack ignored him though, taking a seat on one of the many empty chairs before pouting at the table top. It wasn't long before Aster had let out a log sigh and pulled up a chair next to his brother. Gently he took Jack's hand and placed the cloth over it, dulling the sting as he shifted almost awkwardly in his seat.   
“Sorry.” He mumbled after a moment of silence. “I don't think I meant for it to hurt that much.”   
“Oh please.” Jack said, dropping his chin in his hand, “we're brothers. Like we haven't done a lot worse.”   
“Right,” Aster agreed, removing the cloth to see that the red had reduced to a soft pink, “you mean like that time that you broke my leg?”   
Jack felt himself go stiff at the mention of that, his head jerking off his hand as his lips quivered together for a moment before prying apart and allowing a bark of a laugh slip by.   
“Oh ya.” He said, his mouth twitching at the corners to give a shaky grin. “I completely forgot about that.”  
“How convenient.” Aster smirked, leaning back on his chair while Jack stuck out his tongue. “And no, for your perverted information, we did not do anything.”  
“You totally wanted to though.” Jack said, not able to help himself with the low blow shot, getting back at his brother for the rat tail.   
“Jack!”  
“Oh my god you did!” Jack said, roaring out in laughter as he jumped away from the table just in time to avoid being grabbed by the older male.   
“Jack that is completely inappropriate!” Aster growled as he got up and started going after his brother.  
Jack was nimble, Jack was quick, ducking under tables and hoping over the counter as he continued to snicker at the enraged male.   
“Jeepers, and I thought I just called you 'Bunny' since your ears were so big. I had no idea you thought like one too!”   
“Jack I swear I'm going to...!”   
“Is this a bad time?”   
Being caught off guard by the voice Jack came to a halt. Unfortunately Aster was also distracted and forgot to stop. Both of them slammed into each other, crashing to the ground in a heap of tangled limbs not even a few short seconds after the question had been uttered. Jack was the first to get his barrings though, shoving his brother's heavy body off of him before he jumped to his feet.   
“Not at all Fury.” He said, a wavering smile coming to his lips as he placed his hands behind his back. “We were just discussing the habits of rabbits.”   
Fury made a small, 'ah' sound, raising his brows with the word while Aster quickly got himself up and brushed himself off.   
“There anything I can do for you Fury?” Aster asked while Jack stared at his brother from the corner of his eye.   
Did Aster's voice always do that whenever this guy was around? Hm...   
He would have time to debate on that later. For right now however the only thing that he had to focus on was trying to make a good impression on Fury so that he'd let him date Hiccup. Running around the store like an idiot probably wasn't the best thing for that either.   
“Give you three guesses as to why I'm here.” Fury smirked, seeming to forget that Jack was even in the room at all as he clasped his hands around the back of a chair and leaned slightly over it.   
Jack felt his brows pull together when Aster smirked back and looked away, pretending to think about it as he threw the cloth across his shoulder.   
“Let's see. We're closed, so I highly doubt you came in here for food.” He said as he drew closer while Fury lifted one hand to raise a single finger.   
“That's one.” He said, neither of them seeming to notice when Jack took a small step back.   
“Hm,” Aster hummed, now resting his chin in his hand as he thought some more, “I didn't forget anything last night that you didn't give me.”   
Why did that sound so wrong to the white haired teen?   
“Two,” Fury grinned as he brought up another finger, “you've only got one more.”  
“Wait a second.” Aster said, finally reaching the chair the other was leaning on as he dropped his hands to join Fury's lone one. “What do I get if I get it right?”   
Jack's jaw just about hit the floor as he watched his older brother bring himself so close to the other that their lips were just hovering a few mere centimetres away. He'd never seen this side of Bunny before, and he was sure after this he didn't want to see it again.   
“What would you like?” Fury asked, tilting his head to the side as his eyes lowered down to Aster's lips.   
Jack felt like he'd just lost his lunch.   
“I'll let you decide.” Aster purred while Jack gagged in the background, still going completely unnoticed.   
“Alright than.” Fury agreed while his gaze raised back up to the other green orbs. “What's your third guess?”   
Jack felt his lips pull apart to form a disgusted grimace when Aster took a hold of the others counting hand and loosened the fingers until the were lightly entangled together.  
“Could it be something about the date?”   
Date? Aster had another date with this guy? Why didn't they just tare each others clothes off now and get it over with?   
Fury just smiled though, nearly catching Jack off guard at how open and honest it was. All he ever got from the dark haired ninja was a tight lipped grin when Hiccup told him to be nice. Jack's mind turned back to them though when Fury pulled back a little, seeming to add distance just to tease his brother.   
“You're good.” The older male said as he allowed another smirk to slid over his face. “You forgot to mention when you wanted to go.”   
That seemed to catch Aster off guard as he pulled back for a moment, his mouth opening before slipping closed while his brows pulled together.   
“I did?”   
“Mmhm.” Fury tasked, seconds before his eyes darted to the side and his shoulders shrugged. “That or I just forgot what it was and was trying to blame you for it. Whichever story makes you happier.”   
Holy shit could these two be anymore into each other? Maybe he should call up the wedding planners or something...  
“We could go tomorrow.” Aster said with a nod of his head, as if to confirm his own idea.   
“Sounds good. I'll leave early tomorrow than, I'm sure the others won't mind.” Fury said, moving back in place so that they were close again. “You want your prize now or later?”   
“Later! For the love of god! Later!” Jack yelled, making both of them jump as if they just remembered he was there. “I'm going to have to wash out my innocent eyes after this!” He grumbled while he rubbed harshly at his eyelids, not caring at the moment if he looked like an immature little shit.   
He might have been happy for his brother and now he knew how easy his plan was going to be, but ugh- it was so gross! This was his older brother! It was just- EW!!  
“Oh ya, hi Jack.”   
And suddenly the Fury he knew was back. Peering out at them from behind his hands he was relived to see that they were standing a healthy distance from each other now, Fury simply staring at him with a blank face and his arms firmly crossed over his chest. Aster on the other hand looked as if he wanted to kill Jack at this very second. Not that Jack could blame him of course, if Bunny would have interrupted a good moment he was having with Hiccup he would have freaked. Still though, he had being the little brother on his side.   
They were all silent as the awkwardness hung over the two brothers, Fury not seeming fazed by it at all. With a roll of his eyes though he quickly landed a peck on the silver haired male's cheek while he was still distracted on his brother. Aster was quick to turn around though as the dark haired male gave him a small grin.   
“I'll see you tomorrow Aster.” He said, his voice seeming a lot more professional as he turned back to the door.   
“Uh ya, oh wait-! No Fury I-!” But the door had already slid closed, blocking out the rest of what he could have said.   
Jack felt his body freeze when Aster turned back to glare at him, his eyes seeming to be ablaze with pure...well, fury.  
“What the hell Jack!” He growled as he threw his arms in the air.   
“What? You guys were two seconds away from choking each other with your tongues! I don't want to see that!” Jack snapped back as he stuck out his tongue and shook his head from side to side. “When I said that you wanted to sleep together I have no idea that you'd do it right in front of me.”   
“Ew Jack! For the love of...argg!” Aster snarled as his face went bright red while he quickly ran his hand through his hair. “That's just, you're just-! We're just going on one date okay? That's it, just one.”   
“Really?” Jack muttered as he placed a fist on his hip and raised his other hand to grip at the bottom of his chin. “Because to me it looked like you guys totally wanted each other.” He stated matter-of-factly, ignoring the way his brother's whole face and neck started to blush. “And I don't just mean for like sex and what not...”  
“Jack!”   
“..Fury seemed genuinely happy to be around you, and you seemed the same way.” The white haired teen stated as he hopped up on one of the tables and rested his elbow on his knees before he plopped his head in his hands. “You should think of actually going out.”   
“We barely know each other Jack.” Aster said, seeming to be trying to think of anything he could in order to support his case.   
“And you're both already infatuated.” Jack smirked, stopping any attempts Aster had made in his head. “Face it bro.” He chuckled, jumping off of the table and walking up to his brother, placing a hand on his shoulder as he grinned up at him. “You lose. That guy's got you under his spell bad.”   
And Jack's plan was going to be sooo easy...


	7. Chapter 7

Do You Believe in Magic  
Chapter 7

“Okay Hiccup, Now you're going to have to listen very carefully alright?”   
“Toothless.” Hiccup moaned as he dropped his head on the back of the chair while the rest of the kids around the table snickered at the two. “You've been going over this all weekend and this morning. I think I know what to do.” He said, a small frown covering his lips as he lifted his head back up to look at his brother.   
“I know that.” Fury grumbled, taking a bite out of his own food before he swallowed and continued. “But you can never know to much and if...”  
“It's okay Fury.” Astrid said as she came up behind Hiccup, placing her small but strong hands on his shoulders. “We've got him. At least one of us will be in every class of his. We'll all do our part to make sure nothing happens okay?”   
Fury just stared at her for a moment, slowly thinking it over in his mind. Really he had already told Hiccup everything to watch out for, he'd warned the boy about what type of behavior could trigger certain things. He'd told him to watch out for other students. He might have lied a little bit about what might happen if he came in close contact with people, but really, like he wanted that white haired devil anywhere near his brother when he had just managed to turn. Still, it would be nice to know that someone else was watching over him too, and really Astrid was one of his best students.   
His eyes turned over to the rest of the table, watching Fishlegs as he quickly scratched something down in his book, completely oblivious to anything that was going on. Snotlout was looking at himself and making kissing faces in the back of his spoon, throwing in the occasional wink and flex. The twins were the last he turned to, Ruff heating up her brothers spoon to the point where it turned a flaming red color, and Tuff only retaliating by throwing it in her face.   
Astrid he could trust. The rest.... not so much.   
She seemed to see what he was thinking though as she bit down on her bottom lip, glancing over at the others before turning her attention back to him.   
“I'll watch Hiccup during my classes and than during classes we don't have together I'll ask to go to the bathroom and check in on him.” She said, waiting for Fury's approval as he thought it over.   
“You know, we could always lie and say that it's a special family thing, that we to keep the two together for some reason.” Hookfang yawned, walking in the room with a tall cup of coffee.   
“Hookfang!” Snotlout cheered, running up to the other and quickly throwing his arms around him while the blond tried to keep himself from spilling his coffee all over the small, but broad, male.   
As quick as he was there though Snotlout shot back, clearing his throat as he gave a small punch to the taller male's shoulder, this time nearly making a few drops of coffee fall to the floor.   
“I mean how've ya been. Seems like it been awhile since I've seen you.”   
“Good morning Snotlout.” Hookfang chuckled, rolling his eyes as the kids all snickered again, this time even Hiccup and Fury getting in on it.   
Not bothering to answer his question though Hookfang just threw his arm around the boy's shoulder before turning his attention back to Fury.   
“We could just ask if Astrid could be put in all of his classes if you're that worried about something happening.” Hookfang said, taking a sip from his black coffee, pulling Snotlout closer in the process.  
“No,” Fury sighed as he slowly shook his head, “I don't want to draw any attention to us and I couldn't change Astrid's classes like that. This is high school we're talking about Hookfang, not middle school. They are taking different subjects.”   
“I wouldn't mind Fury.” Astrid said with a shrug of her shoulders while Hiccup looked up at her.   
“It's okay Astrid, I appreciate it really, but I'm sure I can control it just fine.”   
“It takes years to gain proper control Hiccup.” Fury said as he turned his gaze away from Hookfang to his little brother. “You've barely had yours for three days.”   
“Ya, but I've done really well in those three days.” Hiccup said as he straightened up in his seat a little. “I'm going to be fine Toothless.”   
Letting out a long sigh from his noes, Fury allowed his gaze to drop to the top of the table for a moment. Hiccup wasn't anything like him, he had no idea what the boy was capable of doing if something happened, he didn't know if it would be more hazardous to his brother or the students around yet. Hiccup was still way to young at this. Maybe taking him out of school was still an option, maybe he could home school him instead and watch over him extra carefully.   
That wouldn't be what Hiccup wanted though, he hated been treated differently than the others.   
“Okay fine.” He muttered, earning a smile from both Astrid and Hiccup while the boy tried to hold back on a two handed fist raise in victory. “However,” Fury threw in, watching as Hiccup seemed to wince before he continued. “If anything happens, you let me know right away okay?”   
The young brunet nodded his head quickly, unable to keep the smile from splitting his face in two as he got up and ran to the other side of the table.   
“Thank you Toothless!”  
Chuckling Fury hugged his little brother back, holding onto him tightly. Letting him go though he ruffled his brother's hair before he nodded to the rest of the kids.   
“You all need to get ready for school now. The bus should be here in about twenty minutes.”   
“Can I skip today?” Snotlout muttered as Hookfang snickered at him.   
“Aw, don't want to leave me?” He asked while the young boy's face flushed bright red.   
Quickly Snotlout shoved the blond away, only making him laugh a little harder as he brought the cup to his lips.   
“Pfft, no. I just don't feel like going to school today. I mean why should I go when I already know everything that they're trying to teach me wrong?” Snotlout scoffed while he took a few steps back, waving his hands around in the air.   
“Come on Snotlout.” Astrid sighed, grabbing him by his ear and dragging him out with the rest of the kids following behind her.   
Fury watched them all leave, keeping his eye on his little brother until he was out of sight. Hookfang soon enough plopped himself down by the other as he sat back in his seat and Fury turned back to his food.   
“That kid's adorable.” Hookfang snickered as he crossed his free arm over his chest and shook his head.   
“You shouldn't tease him so much Hook.” Fury grumbled, not once lifting his eyes from his food.   
“Can't help it. He just makes it so easy.”   
“He likes you.” Fury mutter while he stole the cup from Hookfang and took a swing of it before the other could protest.   
“I know, that's what makes it so much fun.” Hook said with a shrug of his shoulder as he waited until the dark haired male was finished with his drink before swiping it back.   
Fury was silent for a moment as he just stared at the wall, lost in his thoughts as a certain silver haired male popped into his head.   
He couldn't wait until their date tonight, he'd already asked Astrid to watch over his brother for him while he was out and to maybe even go over some of the basics with him. He knew he could trust her with that, after all Astrid was one of his best students. So he could trust that Hiccup was going to be fine while he went out with Aster. Now that he thought about it though what was he supposed to wear? Would it be a going over the top if he tried to look good? Was he supposed to just be wearing casual? Now he remembered that their date was supposed to be going around on the town or something along those lines, or going out to that Red Sleigh place, but what was that place like? What would Aster be wearing? Hopefully nothing.   
Fury felt his face going bright red as a small smile crawled over his lips while he played around with his fingers a little bit to try and distract himself from any further thoughts. Really he shouldn't have been thinking thoughts like that so early in the morning, not when it would be on his mind for the rest of the day when there were more concerning things to be worried about.   
“You know thinking about him to much is going to rot out your brain.” Hookfang grumbled, earning himself the smallest of eye rolls from the other.   
“Worry about your own brain rotting.” Toothless muttered back, getting up as he snatched Hook's coffee again.   
This time instead of giving it back or anything he simply walked out of the room with it and headed up to his own room. He was fully intent to get ready for the day, and maybe bring something along to wear to the date as well, or would that be to 'girl' like? Wouldn't Aster appreciate it though if he changed out of his work clothes after they were done? Or would Aster continue to wear what he always wore at work too? Not that Fury would mind if he did. Those semi formal dress shirts and jeans really did look good on the older male.   
Hm, this was going to be a lot harder than he thought...

(I warp it with aluminum foil. Foil!)

Alright, this wasn't going to be so hard. Everyone was just overreacting. After all there were barely any people other than his group that talked to him anyways. Other than them the only person that he really had to worry about was...  
“Hiccup!”   
Oh ya...right...  
“Jack.” Hiccup greeted, a forced chuckle passing by his lips as he made sure to move just out of the way of the boy's arm which was seconds away from landing across his shoulders, nearly bumping into Astrid as he did so. “How's your day been going so far?” He asked, trying to ignore the look of hurt that flashed across the others face.   
Jack for his part managed to cover it well as he instead used the out stretched hand to run through his crisp white locks while he let out a small snicker.   
“I was forced to watch Fury and Aster flirting it up yesterday.” He said, making Hiccup's head tilt as a small smile slid over his face. “Oh, hey Astrid, sorry, didn't see you there.”   
“Hi Jack.” Astrid said, giving the other a slight smirk as she shifted the bag on her shoulders. “What's this about Toothless and your brother?” She asked, seeming to try and ease Hiccup a little bit by taking the attention away from his odd behavior.   
“Well Fury stopped by our shop yesterday as we were closing up and I swear that it looked like they were seconds away from tonguing each other.” Jack gagged, sticking out his tongue to further prove his point while the other two chuckled.  
“I think it's nice that Fury finally has someone.” Astrid said, shrugging her shoulders lightly while Hiccup tried to think of how he would have felt to see his brother acting all goo goo over someone.   
It was almost bad enough at home with Fury sometimes zoning out and going all doe eyed until someone broke him out of it. He could still remember when they had all caught the two at the railing, they had been so into each other that they hadn't even noticed that the kids were there until Astrid had basically yelled at them. From his years of experience with his brother nothing ever made Fury zone out that much, he just wished he could understand what Fury found so appealing about the guy.   
Than again he could have just been thinking that because he was really more interested in everything Jack rather than his older brother. So if he was looking at it that way than maybe it made sense as to why his brother was so... off, lately.   
“At least Aster's better than the last one.” He mumbled out absently, not even realizing what he was letting slip until Astrid gave him a quick elbow in the shoulder. “Ouch! What was that for?” He groaned, rubbing his sore arm while she shot him a leveled glare.   
“What was wrong with the last one?”   
Hearing Jack ask that question made him realize his mistake as he cursed himself out mentally before turning back to face the confused face of the handsome white haired teen.   
“It's nothing Jack, just thinking out loud.” He said, waving his hand with a forced smile that Jack seemed to see right through.   
Instead of saying anything more on the matter though Jack just raised a single brow slightly and hoisted his bag further on his shoulders.   
“You feeling okay today Hic?” He asked, his hand already reaching out to touch the boy's forehead.   
Remembering his brother's words from this morning Hiccup let out a small squeak as he shot back from the hand as if it was on fire, running himself into the lockers and than face planting an open locker door when he tried to continue as if nothing had happened.   
He let out a muffled curse as he rubbed his hand down his face, feeling the heat radiating off of it from his embarrassment while Astrid's snickers drifted over his ears. She really wasn't helping him like she was supposed to be. Couldn't she had stood in between them or something? Or maybe at least warned him that Jack was coming?   
Turning back to look at the two though he only felt worse at seeing the look on Jack's face. His brows were drawn slightly together, and his mouth was partly open in a frown as his hand slowly dropped back to his side. After a moment his blue eyes dropped to the side and his jaw clenched tightly as his free hand gripped so tightly around the worn straps of his bag that they turned white.   
It was moments like these that Hiccup hated that he wasn't allowed to tell people what he was.   
“Um, sorry Jack, I just ah, just been a little jumpy.” He quickly shoved out, earning a look from Astrid as if she was trying to tell him that it sounded like the worst excuse she ever heard.   
“That's okay.”   
The cheeriness in his voice was so forced that it nearly made him cringe as Hiccup only felt worse when he realized that Jack wouldn't even look up at him.  
“I just have some things to get done before class starts, you know I didn't do any of the homework last night and you know how teachers are.” He chuckled weakly before giving a small wave to the two and a closed lip smile. “Later.”   
Hiccup watched Jack go until he was out of sight, disappearing around a crowed corner while his thin shoulders slouched forward.   
“Well, I am undoubtedly the worst person ever.” He mutter while Astrid dropped a strong hand on his shoulder.   
“Don't worry Hiccup.” She grinned, seeming to find the whole thing slightly amusing as they continued down the hall. “You are the worst at hiding it though.”   
“Thank you Astrid. That really helps.” He muttered dryly, shooting her a small glare before his frown was back as he turned to where Jack had gone. “He's not really doing homework is he?”   
It was a question, but they both already knew the answer as Astrid quickly shook her head and finally pulled up to her locker.   
“No way. First day I was in class I watched as he got a detention for homework that was due two weeks ago, on top of a whole bunch of other assignments too.” She said, sliding her bag off of her shoulder and digging through it for a moment.   
“He's going to hate me.” Hiccup groaned as he dropped his head in his hands while dropping himself back against a locker.   
“It's only going to be until you get better at controlling it Hiccup. It's not forever.” Astrid said, pulling some books out of her bag and trading them with the ones in her locker.   
“You heard my brother.” Hiccup grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest. “That could take years.”   
“So what?” Astrid said with a shrug as she got her bag back on her shoulders before turning to face him. “Are you actually...”  
“I like Jack Astrid.”   
The two just stared at each other for a moment, blue locking with green as everything seemed to stop for the two of them. Astrid's gaze didn't stay on his long though as they drifted to the lockers behind him.  
“Hiccup.” She muttered lowly reaching out and pulling him away from the dull containers.   
Looking over his shoulder to see what she was seeing he couldn't stop himself from hopping away when he noticed that the lockers had started to cave in on themselves, as if they had been turned into nothing more than a flexible rubber.   
“Keep your moods in check Hiccup.” She whispered, pulling him away and seamlessly blending in to the crowd before anyone knew that they were there in the first place. By the time anyone noticed anything was wrong with the lockers they were already half way down the hallway.   
“I did that?” Hiccup said, his mouth falling open as he looked over his shoulder at the few kids that were gathered around the still soft doors, some of them yelping in pain when they went to poke at them.   
“Yup.” The blond girl sighed while she threw an arm around his shoulders. “Okay listen.”   
Turning his head to face her at the tone of her voice Hiccup felt his brows pull together as he noticed the serious look that she had across her face. “If you want to be able to hang out with Jack safely than you're going to need some hardcore training.”   
“Fury said that...”  
“Fury is going to go easy on you Hiccup. You're his brother and a late bloomer.” Astrid stated while Hiccup rolled his eyes.   
“Oh please, don't hold back.”   
“I'm not as good as Fury, but I have better control than anyone else in the group and I can teach you.” She suggested while Hiccup finally caught on to what she was saying.   
“You're going to help me so I can hangout with Jack?” He said, unable to keep the grin from his face as she blew a few strands of her bangs from her face.   
“Yup.”   
Before she could do anything or even protest Hiccup caught her up in a tight hug.   
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”   
The only thing he got in return was a sharp punch to his arm.   
“Hey, knock it off.” She grumbled, shoving the chuckling male off of her. “Geez, you and Fury both pinning after humans.” She grumbled while he only stuck his tongue out at her.   
“There's nothing wrong with them Astrid.”  
“Whatever you say Hiccup.” She sighed, rolling her eyes again before she placed her hands on her hips. “We're going to start tonight, while Fury's out on his date.”   
Hiccup could only nod his head, unable to keep the grin off of his face. He couldn't wait until he was going to be able to hang out with Jack without having to worry about hurting him. He'd seen first hand with Fury what could happen if they lost control. It wasn't pretty and left a lot of people hurt or worse. This way though he was going to be able to cut down his learning by a few years, after all, he'd watched Fury teach Astrid everything, and than would continue watching as she would spend hours and hours perfecting anything that she could, never happy with anything less than perfect.   
“I'm ready to start whenever you are.”


	8. Chapter 8

Do You Believe in Magic  
Chapter 8

Aster had no idea what was wrong, but the moment that Jack stepped through the doors he could tell something was off about the normally bright eyed teen. It was as if there was a large black cloud following him around as his shoulders sagged while he grabbed a hold of a cloth that Aster had left on the counter and quietly started to wipe down tables. The old of the two could only raise a brow when the boy seemed so lost in his own head that he even washed over a girl's hand at a table that was being occupied.   
The girl didn't say a word, simply raising a brow at the boy' s oddness before she slowly started up her conversation with her friend again. Deciding now was the time to do something Aster walked up to his brother and snatched his hand before he could wipe at anyone else occupied table.   
“Jack can I have a word with you?” He questioned, feeling even more concern when the boy blankly nodded his head rather than shooting off one of his quick witted comments.   
Pulling his brother gently into the back Aster couldn't help but allow his brows to draw together and his frown to deepen when he saw that Jack still wasn't looking up from the floor.   
“How was school today?” He tried, wondering if maybe it had been worse than normal with his teachers.   
“Good.”   
Aster waited o hear the rest, but when Jack didn't open his mouth anymore after that he gave up on the idea as he instead turned his attention towards something else.   
“How is Hiccup?”   
At this question he got a little bit more of a reaction. Jack face seemed to twitch for a moment, as if it was arguing with him over whether he wanted to smile or just plain bawl his eyes out. Seeing the problem now though Aster let out a small sigh as he pulled his brother in closer and took a seat.   
“What happened?” He asked, keeping his voice soft as if he was talking to a baby kitten rather than a high school student.   
Even if he was in high school though Jack couldn't fool him. Aster knew how sensitive he could get about things, especially when it involved other people. He might have put up a good front at school but ever since their parents had passed Aster knew Jack was terrified of the thought of losing anyone else.   
“He doesn't want to be around me anymore.” Jack nearly whimpered, seeming to find his fingers very interesting as he locked them together. “This morning at school he kept jumping away from me like it was the zombie apocalypse and I was infected.”  
Leave it to Jack to sum something up like that.   
Zombies.  
“And than throughout the day it was the same thing but it got worse and he kept whispering to Astrid and than they would glance at me and than some of their other friends would do it too. I know it sounds stupid and paranoid but I feel like their all making fun of me.” Jack said, his eyes wide as the very idea terrified him. “I mean what happens if this is like Daggur all over again?”   
His arms tightened around his little brother tightened at the mere thought of it. Daggur was a chapter in both of their lives that he really just wanted to forget about. No matter what he did though he highly doubted he'd ever be able to and he knew that Jack never would.   
“I don't know Jack.” He said, resting his chin on top of his brothers head. “If it's something that you're worried about than keep an eye on it but I don't think that Hiccup's anything like that.”   
Really it was the truth, he didn't see a malicious bone in that kids body.   
“Maybe it's something else. You should try talking to him about it.” He tried, only earning a head shake from the smaller male.   
“I tried that this morning and I didn't get any honest answer.” Jack grumbled, seemingly to himself as Aster hummed along and gently pet his hair.   
“Do you want me to ask Fury?” He questioned, waiting patiently for his brother's answer as Jack let out a long sigh.   
“No, I don't want Fury's help. I want Hiccup to tell me himself.” Jack frowned before Aster patted his leg, signaling for him to jump off.   
“Alright than, if that's what you want.” He said as he got to his feet while Jack started to pawl around the kitchen. “Just don't push it though Jack, I'm sure Hic will tell you when he's ready if something really is bothering him today. Maybe he just wasn't feeling that well.” He suggested while the blue eyed boy rolled his eyes the slightest.   
“Ya, sure.” He murmured before his frown came back and his shoulders slumped forward. “I just hope he doesn't hate me or something.”   
“Jack.” Aster chuckled as he through and arm around the boy's shoulders and dug his knuckles into the op of his head. “Trust me when I say that Hiccup doesn't hate you okay?” He said, grinning just the slightest as his antics got a small laugh out of his little brother.   
“Okay, okay fine.” Jack agreed as he pushed against the other until he was released.   
Seeing that he was in much better spirits now Aster turned himself back to the door, deciding it would probably be a good idea to run back into work and make sure no one stole anything while he was gone.   
“If you're going to be back here though Jackie boy than I suggest that you get started on your homework.”   
“Ugh! Asterrrr!!”   
“Now Jack.” 

(Hugs)

“This sucks! Why am I always the one who has to stay back whenever Fury decides to go on a spree?” Hook grumbled while Storm couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes.   
“Would you please just shut up?” She muttered, trying to keep her mind on the numbers of the inventory rather than the blond who was leaning on the wall behind her taking a drag of his cigarette.   
“Why should I?” He huffed, blowing out the smoke in her direction much to her annoyance. “This happens all of the time.”   
“Hookfang please.” She snapped as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “When was the last time that Fury every went out and did anything that didn't involve work?”   
She knew that he was just trying to irritate her, and she knew that she shouldn't give in, but his never ending whining was starting to get on her nerves. Thankfully her question seemed to shut him up for a little while, giving her enough time to look through another box of herbs and trying to remember which ones these were and what they were used for.   
“Well there was that one time he ditched out on work to see that one guy.”   
“That was a rescue mission to get back Torch you dolt.”   
“Okay well than what about when he skipped out on training to go and...  
“Yet another rescue mission to snatch up the triplets before Shatter.” Storm grumbled without batting an eyelash.   
“There was that one time that he...”  
“Hookfang!” Storm snapped, finally losing her tempter as she spun on her heels and marched up to him. “Can you be quiet for two seconds and actually get some work done?”   
“Storm come on.” He chuckled as he snatched the clip board from her hand and crushed out the cigarette. “You know I'm only trying to bother you.”   
“I know, it doesn't make it any less irritation though.” She growled, eyes watching him carefully as he scanned over the list.   
“I know he needs to get out more. I mean I pick on him all the time but I still care about the guy.” He said as he walked back over to the place she had been standing while she continued to watch. “Besides, you should have seen him at breakfast this morning. He's so taken with that guy that he kept zoning out. It was actually kind of funny.”   
“You two should lay off each other more. You'd get along so much better.” Storm said with a roll of her eyes while Hook snickered at her from over his shoulder.   
“We're guys. That's how we show we care.”   
Storm continued watching him, eyeing the way that his back seemed tense under her gaze while he tried to act nonchalant as he counted out some little dream catchers. Not without a long sigh did she finally walk back up to him and open up another box.   
“You still like him don't you?”   
He froze, only for a split of a second but it was enough for her to notice as she let out another small sigh while he shrugged his shoulders.   
“So what? Like I'm the only one?” He grumbled, casting a glance at her as she pressed her lips into a thin line. “Let's face facts here. I think almost everyone who's ever met him has had a thing for him.”   
“Can't deny that.” Storm muttered under her breath as Hook let out a small scoff.   
“Out of all of the strong, fast, smart ones he could pick and he goes for a godsdamn human.” He said with a simply shake of his head. “I have no idea what he's thinking.”   
Stormfly just placed her box back on the shelf, snatching the clip board back for a few seconds so she could jot down some more numbers and check them over.   
“Well, we know how well the last relationship he had with someone of our kind went. It's no surprise really.” She added as he growled from her side and nearly slammed his box back in.   
“I swear if I ever see that guy again...”  
“Hey guys I just thought...”  
Fury didn't get to finish whatever it was he was about to say however as the two let out a scream and jumped nearly a foot in the air. When they each turned to face him somewhat sheepishly he simply raised a brow at them before tilting his head to the side.   
“Are you two okay?” He asked as he walked further into the small storage room, making them both nod their heads vigorously.   
“Ya, we're fine.” Storm said as she waved a hand towards him, Hookfang placing a hand over his heart to make sure it was still there. “What were you saying Fury?” She asked, hoping to seem like she hadn't been just about ready to spine shoot someone in two seconds flat.   
“I just wanted to know if you guys want any help before I go to teach Hiccup in little bit.” He asked, his brow still raised as he turned from one of them to the other. “You guys sure you're okay?” He asked again as Hookfang reached out and threw an arm around his shoulders.   
“Oh we're fine, are you?” The blond asked with a smirk as a frown came to the smaller male's face.   
“What's that supposed to mean?” He muttered as Hook couldn't seem to stop himself from snickering.   
“You're stalling for time for your date tonight aren't you?”   
Storm could honestly say that she'd never seen Fury's face get that red that fast. The color in his cheeks was almost bright enough to rival Hookfang's scales when he was in his dragon form.   
“I-I-I'm not s-s-stalling!”   
The room fell into absolute silence after the words had been spoken. Storm pressed her lips together tightly, trying to fight with the laughter that was starting to shake her shoulders at the look of pure mortification that was across Fury's face.   
“Oh s-s-shit.”   
And they lost it.   
Both Hookfang and Stormfly couldn't hold in their laughter anymore as they doubled over, only making the blush across the boy's face even brighter as he glared at them both.   
“T-t-this i-is-isn't fu-f-funny guys!” Fury snapped.   
Stormfly tried to straighten herself out, her cheeks still puffing up from time to time with contained laughter. Hookfang on the other hand only laughed even harder at the boy's distress and reached out to ruffle Fury's hair like a child.  
“Nope, sorry. This is hilarious.” He snickered, earning himself a good shove to the side as Fury growled at him.   
“Fury it's not that bad.” Storm said, the smile refusing to leave her lips at the misfortune of her friend. “I'm sure you'll manage to get it back under control by tonight don't worry.”   
“I-i-it b-b-better.” He growled as he crossed his arms over his chest and frowned at them both.   
Dropping his arms to his side again however he nodded his head to the clipboard.   
“S-so d-d-do you need h-help?” He asked as Storm quickly shook her head.   
“Nah, we're fine Fury. You go and give Hic a quick run through and than go and enjoy your date.” She grinned, throwing in a wink for good measure as a small smile worked its way over the others face.   
“T-t-thanks S-Storm. Hey H-Hook?” Fury turned his attention to the blond raising a single brow. “A-a-are you s-s-s-sure you're o-okay with w-w-watching the s-st-store t-tonight?”   
Storm turned to face her friend, her arms coming across her chest as she waited for his answer. She really wanted to know what he was going to say now that Fury was asking for a serious answer. He could either be an ass and make a joke of it, or he could actually have feelings for once and tell Fury what he really thought. Although now that she thought about it he could be an ass whether he was making a joke or being serious so...  
“I don't care, not like I had any plans or anything.” Hookfang said with a small shrug while he leaned his shoulder against one of the overstocked shelf's before a smirk twitched the corner of his lips upwards. “But you owe me Fury.”   
With a roll of his eyes Fury gave a shake of his head before he went to turn back to the door.   
“W-w-well than I'm g-gone f-f-for the n-n-night. S-see y-y-you two later.”   
“Don't forget to get that stutter under control!” Hookfang cheered, giving the boy a 'lady finger wave', earning himself a single finger as Fury left the storage room to go out front.   
“We were both checking out his ass weren't we.” He muttered not even two seconds after the door had closed as Storm felt her own cheeks grow a little hot while she pressed her lips together.   
“Yeah.” She said, brushing some of her hair out of her face before she turned back to the board in her hands. “Work?” She suggested as Hook gave a quick nod of his head.   
“Work.”   
At least they had something to distract themselves with for a little while.   
“But you know Fury's date doesn't start for awhile.” He said slowly, making her raise a brow at him as she tried to focus on counting.   
“So?”   
“Well, how much do we really know about this guy?” Hook added, stopping his work so he could turn to face her.   
“Nothing.” Stormfly added honestly. “Because we're not stalkers.”   
“Oh come on Storm.” He grumbled as he threw his hands in the air. “This guy could be crazy! He could be dangerous! Don't you think we should make sure that everything's going to be okay?”   
Rolling her eyes she turned back to her work, hoping that this wouldn't take any longer than it had to.   
“Come on Stormy, you know you want to.” He sing sang as he snatched the board from her hands. “It's not like we're going to ruin the date or anything, Fury won't even know that we're there.” He said matter of factually while she scowled at him. “Besides, it's our duty to look out for one another isn't it?”   
Well, when he said it like that...  
Fury trusted her though, and she wasn't going to go behind his back and spy on his date. That would just be going way to far. It didn't matter what Hookfang would say to her either because Fury would know that they were there. Somehow, someway he would be able to sense them and when he did things were going to go to hell in a hand basket in seconds.   
“Fine.” Hookfang sighed, the noise being way to loud and over dramatic to actually sound believable. “If you won't go with me than I'll ask the twins. You know Ruff and Tuff would be more than happy to...”  
“Don't you dare.” She hissed, turning on him faster than a snake on a rat.   
They both were very well aware of what the twins would do if they were told to 'spy' on Fury. They would ruin everything! Probably break a few things and definitely scare the guy off. There was no way that she was going to let him send those two anywhere near the date.   
“Well than I guess you're just going to have to come with me.” He grinned as she fumed slightly.   
“Fine.” She snapped, stealing the board back before pointing it in his face. “But we're just going to watch. We will not, and I repeat -NOT- ruin this for Fury alright?”   
She really didn't like the grin that he was giving her but at least she knew she'd be able to keep him under control. The twins were a whole new ball game. Outside of Fury, Barf and Belch, no one really knew how to control them.   
“He's going to kill us.” She said, dropping her head against her hand while Hookfang let out an evil sounding snicker.


	9. Chapter 9

Do You Believe in Magic  
Chapter 9

“Wow, you look good.”   
Aster couldn't stop the words from passing his lips as a small blush worked over his face. It wasn't that Fury ever looked bad, he was starting to doubt if it was even possible for him to look bad, but...just wow. He looked like he walked right out of a man's fashion magazine. The red button up really brought out his skin color and the black jacket just helped to add on such a nice edge, and those pants... He thought that the slim jeans had made his legs look nice but he was glad to be proven wrong with the well fitting skinny jeans that Fury wore.   
Fury chuckled lightly, a smirk already over his face as he openly looked Aster up and down. Not that Aster minded, he could look allll he wanted.   
“You clean up pretty nice too.”   
Aster rolled his eyes, trying to play it off as he ran a hand through his hair. It wouldn't be worth mentioning that he'd asked Jack to help him pick something out and they'd gone through about ten different outfits before they landed on this one. There was noway that he would also mention that Jack had forced him to sit on the toilet in the bathroom for about half an hour while Jack did his hair. He was going to carry that to his grave.   
“Thanks.” He said, waiting for Fury to join him at his side.   
When the shorter male smiled softly and looked up at him Aster found that every word he'd so carefully planned to charm the guy for tonight just flew out of his head and was carried off into the chill of the wind.   
“So,” Fury said, his eyes glancing to the side after a moment after he'd cleared his throat, “I would lead us to where ever it is we're going but I don't know this place so....”   
“R-r-right.” Aster said, earning himself a small snicker from the man beside him.   
“Careful Aster, people might think I bewitched you.” Fury grinned as he rolled onto the balls of his feet and placed a kiss to the underside of his jaw.   
Throwing an arm around the slightly smaller male's shoulders Aster couldn't help but smirk as he forced Fury to stay where he was so he could lean down and whisper in his ear.   
“You know I don't think I mind.”   
When he pulled back he couldn't help but smile softly at the bright red blush that came across the others face and the warm smile that also sat across his lips.   
“Come on. I promised I'd take you to see a movie tonight right?” He grinned, keeping his arm around the darker haired male's shoulder but allowing him enough room so that they could move and continue down the street.   
“Please tell me you didn't pick some rom com or something.” Fury snickered as Aster rolled his eyes.   
“God no.” He muttered before a full blown smirk came across his face. “I picked a horror film.”   
At his words the smile vanished from Fury's face as his eyes went wide and his mouth pressed into a thin line.   
“Please tell me you didn't.” He muttered, his face so pale that Aster actually felt a little baffled.   
“Well, ya. We don't have to see it if you're afraid of them or anything I just thought...”   
“I'm not afraid of them!” Fury grumbled, narrowing his gaze as if the very idea of it was absurd. “I just...” He trailed off as his eyes darted to the side while he bit down on the corner of his lip. “No, it's fine. We can go see it.”   
“Oookayyy.” Bunny said, raising a brow in question while they continued down the street. “Fury if you don't wan to...”  
“No.” Fury cut him off, his hand coming up in a tight balled fist as a look of determination came across his face. “I can do this.”   
Aster thought he was being a little weird, but at the same time he couldn't help but find it endearing.   
He would be lying if he told anyone that he was starting to wonder if asking Jack for which movie they should watch had been a mistake. Jack had told Aster that there was no better way to get someone to cuddle you than watching a scary movie together. Than again he should have known better then to listen to a guy who's never been on one date in his entire life. Maybe Fury was just easily scared or something, and Aster had no problem with that, especially if that meant the boy would be clinging to him for the whole thing. 

(Hugs!)

“Ahahaha!!! This is the best!!” Hookfang exclaimed from behind the tree he was using as cover before Stormfly elbowed him in the stomach.   
“Would you keep it down?” She hissed, ducking lower as the two passed by them, chatting about this and that.   
“B-But he just got his stuttering under control again!” Hookfang said, the shit eating grin never once leaving his face no matter how hard the girl tried to melt it off with her glare. “That movie is going to make it ten times worse!”   
Rolling her eyes Storm kept low as she followed after them, a snickering Hookfang following quickly in her steps. She was actually surprised that Fury hadn't caught them yet, he must have been off his game or completely distracted to not notice two of his most trusted companions following him from only a few meters.   
Remembering that Fury was her best friend and trusted her with everything only made a deep weight seem to sit in her stomach as she swallowed down the lump in her throat. This was just so low. It didn't matter why they said they were doing it, or what their reasons would be, it was still wrong. Fury trusted her, he trusted Hookfang, and yet here they both were, stalking after him on what was supposed to be a night between just him and his human. Not even the time when she'd had to clean out the horse stalls at one of their own places could even compare to how dirty she felt right now.   
“We should go.” She muttered, coming to such a sudden halt that Hookfang ran straight into her back.   
“What?” He asked, the laughter that had filled his voice only moments ago completely gone as she turned to face him. “Why?”  
“This is wrong Hook.” She muttered, her sunset colored eyes narrowing sharply at him. “This is completely invading his privacy.”   
“So, it's not like we're doing anything to hurt him.”   
“No, but I might.” The girl warned as she raised a single fist while Hook threw both of his hands in the air and jerked back.   
“You're just no fun.” He muttered, earning himself an eye roll as she brushed passed him.   
“We're going home.”   
“Wait, wait, wait!” Hook suddenly yelped, snatching at her wrist so quickly that she didn't even have time to move before he was pulling her back. “What if, what if I said this wasn't all about Fury?” He asked, his voice suddenly low as his gaze was glued to the ground.   
Storm simply raised a brow at him as she turned herself to face him better.   
“What are you talking about?”   
“Well let's just say, you know hypothetically,” Hook said as he let her go in order to raise his hand up to scratch at his cheek while he turned his gaze upward, “that you know, someone wanted to ask you out but didn't know any of the places to go so when they heard that Fury was going to be going on a date with someone who knew all about the town they just kind of thought that following them would, you know, be the best idea since they know where they're going and what not so...” He muttered, his face nearly flaming red as Storm's eyes widened when she caught on to what he was saying.   
“Oh.” She muttered as he winced at her response.   
“Ya, oh.”   
Neither of them bothered looking at the other, both turning away to look to the side somewhat awkwardly as Storm tried to come up with a new idea.   
It was a little sudden, and she hadn't really been expecting it with them talking earlier about how they both still kind of liked Fury, but maybe this would help. Maybe they could both get through it together easier if they helped each other out. Besides it's not like she hated Hookfang or anything, regardless of how cut throat she could be with him sometimes. He was after all, one of her closes friends.   
“Why don't we do this?” She muttered softly, brushing some of her hair behind her ears as Hookfang perked back up and waited for her to continue, “How about instead of following them we just wander around for ourselves and see what this place has to offer?”   
“Okay!” Hook grinned, before he caught himself and shoved his hands into his pockets, shrugging his shoulder with a look of indifference set across his face. “I mean, that works.”   
Rolling her eyes Storm took a step out from her hiding place and back onto the empty main street. Fury and his human were out of sight now, but she didn't care as she turned her attention back to Hook who was stumbling out of the bushes in an ungraceful heap. She stood there with a hand on her hip and a brow raised as he quickly brushed himself off and swiftly straightened his clothing.   
“Ready when you are.” He said, a smirk sliding over his face as she rolled her eyes and walked in the opposite direction the the other two had gone.   
She really hoped she wasn't going to regret this. 

(Hugs)

He didn't know why horror movies scared the living crap out of him. He'd lived through worse, he'd seen far worse, but none of that seemed to matter every time the horror music came on and someone on the screen started screaming. With that being said he really did feel bad for Aster, he could have sworn that he'd nearly broken the guys hand a few times. As it was now he was still shaking and probably cutting off the circulation in Aster's arm with the grip that he had on it. He was attached the other like a leech and for the life of him he couldn't stop whipping his head around looking for the monsters in the dark.   
Maybe that was the reason that horror movies freaked him out. Sure they were nothing like what he actually had to deal with, but they reminded him about the worse things that were out there. The worse that Fury had pissed off. The worse things that swore they would spill Fury's blood.   
“That is quiet and impressive grip you've got there.”   
Aster's voice startled him, forcing a small yelp passed his lips as he jumped and whipped his head around to face the gray haired male.   
He always put up a strong front for his group, he had to as their leader. They looked to him for protection and direction, but he couldn't be that person all the time. In all reality most of the time he was freaking out for the protection of every member of his group over every enemy he'd ever made. He was always worried about whether or not he would end up putting them in danger. His last relationship had been a slap in the face on how much he could completely fuck up.   
“You okay Fury?”   
“Uh...” Yanking his hand away from the others arm Fury quickly nodded his head, trying to shake off the unsettling feeling as he gave himself a small shake. “Y-y-y-ya, I'm f-f-fine.”   
Aster stayed silent for a moment, but Fury didn't pay it much mind as he retreated back into his own thoughts. He jumped again when an arm slipped around his waist and he was pulled to a stop. Before he could say anything he was pulled up against Aster's chest an another arm was wrapped around his shoulders holding him in place.   
“Fury I'm sorry.” Aster sighed, gently stroking his thumb over the back of Fury's neck, making an involuntary shiver run down his spine. “I didn't know you were so afraid of those kinds of movies. You didn't have to watch it if you didn't want to. We could have done something else.”   
Fury let out a soft sigh, enjoying the warmth from the older male as he allowed himself to just stand there for a few seconds.   
“I-i-it's not the-the m-movie Aster.” He said after a moment, pulling back just enough to stare up into the bright green emeralds the male had for eyes. “I've j-just, I w-w-was just think- thinking.”   
There, that didn't sound to bad. Well actually considering that he was on a date he guessed it didn't sound like the best thing to say. It basically shouted out, 'I'm so bored of this that I've had to retreat to my own little world to survive the next few hours'. Which wasn't the case at all, but that's sure what it sounded like.   
Aster only frowned, not seeming to buy his lie as he ever so slowly nodded his head.   
“Alright, if you say so.” He said, separating them a little bit more as his hand slid down and slipped into Fury's.   
Fury stared down at their hands, blinking owlishly at them before a giddy smile came to his lips. He tried to whip it off, but no matter what he did he couldn't push the weird little warm feeling that stared in his stomach and spread throughout his body until it was making his head light. He didn't know why but the feeling of the others hand in his just made him so happy, which he guessed was stupid but none of his other partners had ever bothered with such affectionate gestures.   
“Um, Fury are you purring?”   
Snapping his eyes open, and wondering briefly when he had closed them, Fury felt his face go bright as he locked his gaze with Aster's.   
Aster's lips were pulled into a smirk, but it looked like he was trying to hold back a laugh as Fury tried to come up with any type of excuse. He never got to use any before the slightly taller male leaned down and gave him the smallest of pecks on the lips.   
“Who thought you could be both sexy as hell and drop dead adorable.”   
Fury scowled at him, not enjoying the teasing as he huffed at the other.   
“C-C-Charming.” Fury stuttered, before slapping a hand over his mouth, his eyes going wide.   
Aster raised a brow at his sudden action and gave the boy's hand a small squeeze to draw his attention back.   
“Hey, what's wrong?”   
Had he been stuttering this whole time and he'd only noticed now? How did he not notice that! Aster had heard him talking like that too!? Well wasn't that just great! It seemed that his silence gave Aster all he needed though since his eyes lit up in understanding as his mouth opened up in a small 'o' shape.   
“Is this about the stuttering thing?” He asked, obviously knowing he was right from the look across Fury's face. “I just thought that was because of the movie.” Aster said, leaning back a little bit to give the dark haired male some room. “But you actually have a stutter that you work at hiding?”   
Well, the cat was out of the bag now.   
“Y-y-ya.” He mumbled, blowing a strand of hair out of his face as he looked off to the side. “I-I-It's n-normally no-not this-this b-bad b-b-but...”   
“The movie made it worse?” Aster snickered, earning himself a small glare. “Don't worry Fury, I'm not going to make fun of you or anything, Jack use to stutter too.”   
Fury felt his eyes widen at that as he took a step back.   
“W-w-what?”   
Jack? Aster's little brother Jack? That couldn't...that didn't make any sense.   
“Ya?” Aster said, his brow furrowing at the shock in the others voice. “What's...”  
“A-Aster I h-have t-to go.” Fury said as he reluctantly pulled his hand away and shivered at the cold breeze that caressed his palm not even seconds later. “I-I-I'm r-really so-sorry.” He said quickly, unable to help the fact that his fingers were twitching and his heart was pounding. “I-I'll s-see you t-t—to-tomorrow o-okay?” He didn't give Aster anytime to reply before he got up on his toes and gave him a quick kiss, holding it for only a few seconds before he took off down the street they had just come up.   
The second that he rounded the corner he took off running. When he was deep enough in the ally he allowed his form to shift, his skin stretching and his bones snapping as they rearranged themselves to his dragon form. As silent as the night itself he took to the skies, his black scales making him vanish in the inky black of the sky while he made a straight line for home.  
He had quiet a bit of background information to do on Aster's family, because it seemed that his little brother was one of them.


	10. Chapter 10

Do You Believe In Magic  
Chapter 10

Hiccup just knew that he was going to be black and blue by the time he woke up for school tomorrow. He had no idea if this was really how Fury taught everyone else, or if it was just a special type of brutal training that only Astrid could come up with. Either way he was sure that if they kept this up, if it didn't kill him first, than he would have his powers down pat in no time. For now however...  
“Oh my gods.” Hiccup groaned, his chin bumping against his chest as he rubbed at the back of his soar neck. “I'm not going to be ale to hold my head up straight tomorrow.” He whined, letting out a sharp yelp when Astrid gave him a strong slap to his back.   
“Keep up your good work and you'll be able to be so close with Jack you won't be able to walk straight.” She said, smirking at how fast his face went bright red.   
“Astrid!”   
She only cackled, laughing like a witch at his embarrassment as they made their way back towards their large house. The closer they came to it, the quieter they got. Hiccup really had no idea what anyone would think of them training together but he had a feeling Gobber wouldn't be to impressed and Fury might be...well furious. It wouldn't have been so bad if they were just doing physical training, which he guessed they could always lie about and say that's what they were doing, but they were working on controlling Hiccup's abilities. One wrong move and they could have both been burnt to a crisp by a backfire.   
By the time they were creeping up on the back porch they were in mute mode and tiptoeing across the smooth, gloss covered wood. Everyone else was already in bed, which was really where they should have been since it as almost the 'witching hour', and the ones that weren't sleeping were out. As long as they didn't wake up Gobber, Fishlegs, or Meatlug, they were golden.   
“What are you two doing?”   
Unless Fury came home early...   
Hiccup nearly screamed, Astrid's hand coming over his mouth was the only reason that he didn't wake up the rest of the house hold as they both turned around to stare at the one who had caught them.   
Fury stood before them, the inky blackness of his dragon skin still retracting from his skin as it disappeared underneath his clothing and was lost in his hair. His eyes took a little less time to shrink back down to normal human standers but even when they did they still remained narrowed in a slit. He wasn't crossing his arms though, and Hiccup took it as a somewhat good sign as he put on his best 'I didn't do it' face.   
“Fury!” He grinned, throwing his arms out as if they hadn't seen each other in years rather than just a few hours. “What brings you home so early?”   
Astrid slapped a hand to her forehead while Fury quirked a single brow upwards. In hindsight that was probably the worst thing that Hiccup could have said if he wanted to look innocent. Realizing that a little to late though he quickly chose another approach.   
“How'd your date with Aster go?”   
When a grimace came over his brother's face Hiccup immediately regretted the question. That might have explained why he was home so early.   
“It was great but something came up.” Fury mumbled, walking passed the two and opening the door. “I'm actually glad that you two are still up because I need to tell you something that I would prefer the rest of the group didn't know at the moment.”   
Hiccup and Astrid shared a glance with each other, both of them curious as to what he could want with them at this time of night, but they both followed in after him anyways. If Fury wanted to tell them something than it had to be important.   
None of them spoke as they marched their way towards the kitchen and briefly Hiccup wondered if it would be inappropriate to grab a hot chocolate while they spoke. Deciding that the sugar would keep him up even later than he already was he chose not to even bother mentioning it as they all took a seat.   
“What's wrong Fury?” Astrid asked, her tone completely serious as her arms crossed over the counter top.   
“Have you two noticed anything weird about Jack?”   
Face flushing at the question Hiccup found that his tongue was to tied to speak as his gaze suddenly dropped down to his lap and his shoulders came up to meet his ears. Astrid on the other hand raised a brow at the question before she gave it some thought. Even just thinking about the hyperactive teen was enough to make Hiccup both want to swoon and drown in guilt for how he had treated him this morning.   
“Not anything other than his soul crushing heartbreak when Hiccup was avoiding him today.” Astrid stated bluntly, making each brother winch at the slight sharp knife twist of her words.   
“Okay, well anything other than that?” Fury asked, making Hiccup huff with a roll of his eyes as he dropped his chin against the palm of his hand.   
“I thought you didn't want me near Jack now that I'm switched and might end up hurting him.”   
When his dark haired brother ran a hand through his hair and looked away, biting down on his bottom lip Hiccup could tell that there was something he was leaving out.   
“What's wrong with Jack?”   
His question seemed to catch both of them off guard, Fury's motions coming to a halt and Astrid's shoulders becoming stiff. Both of the younger members turned to their leader as they waited to be told just what in the world was going on.   
For his part the older Night Fury slowly started moving again, his hand moving down to rest against the table as his gaze moved from one to the other.   
“I think,” he said slowly, drawing in both of their attention as the two subconsciously leaned in closer, “that Jack may be one of us.”   
Whoa, wait, hold up.   
Hiccup's mind took a vacation for about half a second before coming back with not even one picture to show for it. Blinking himself out of his shocked state he dropped himself against the back of his chair like a dead weight, his eyes glazing over and his head tilting to the side.   
“Oh.”   
“Oh? That's all you have to say about it?” Astrid asked, her brain seeming to come back with more to say than Hiccup could imagine. “Is he dangerous? Did Aster tell you that? Did he attack you? Is that why you're home early? Should we tell the others? Is this their area? I haven't smelt them anywhere so...”   
. “Astrid.” Fury said, stopping her questions with a single raise of his hand. “One question at a time please.” He muttered, looking as if his own brain was trying to think of every one she had just asked and was trying to come up with a perfect answer.   
“I said I think, I don't know if he is for sure. Aster mentioned how he use to have a stuttering problem,” he explained, Hiccup's brain finally ready to tune back in as he drew his eyes back towards his brother.   
“So like what you use to have until you could control your change?” He put in before Fury could continue.   
“Yes.” He admitted. “And from what we know it only stops once you've managed to control it. I haven't know many humans who have it but they're even rarer than us so there's a strong lean towards Jack being one of us as well. I just don't think Aster knows about it if he is.”   
“How could he not?” Astrid asked, her eyebrow disappearing underneath her bangs as her lips pinched together. “His switching alone could have been triggered at any point without a mentor or a sharer, not to mention how much his other abilities might have gone off countless times without proper training.”   
“I don't know.” Fury said.   
Hiccup simply sat back and listened to the two. He was still new to this and he didn't want to be throwing in half asses guesses at how hard it would have been for Jack to hide this kind of thing from his brother, especially when they seemed so close. He was having a hard enough time just keeping it hidden from people out side of his home, he couldn't imagine trying to hide it all the time.   
“From what I can tell though Aster doesn't believe in our kind at all, he's completely against the idea of any form of magic being real, you can pretty much feel the disbelief coming off of him in waves.”   
“Okay, but what if Jack is one? I haven't come across any place here yet that he's marked. If this is his area shouldn't the whole place smell at least a little like him?”   
“Hiccup smells like him sometimes when he comes back to the shop after visiting them.” Fury put in as Hiccup's head snapped back up.   
“I do!?” He squeaked, suddenly overly embarrassed as the two gave him a small smirk.   
“Yes, I didn't think much of it at the time,” Fury muttered, his brows drawing together as his lips twitched downwards, “because if humans smell really bad and it's really strong it can spread, but now that I think of it, Jack doesn't smell bad. The amount is just small enough to be noticed if someones closed to you Hiccup, but from a distance completely unnoticeable.”   
“If he was laying claim to Hiccup though than why would he do it where no one really notices?” Astrid asked, Hiccup being far to flustered to be able to ask the question himself.   
Fury just shrugged his shoulders, his fingers pressing together while he thought of an answer.   
“It could be a safety kind of thing. Maybe its just a form of comfort for him to do that to people he likes but, as you said, his scent isn't anywhere else. What if Jack's the last one here? Without a group to back him up if he flaunted the fact that he was here he could be putting himself in danger.”   
Hiccup felt his heart drop a little at the thought. He couldn't imagine how awful it would be if he didn't have his 'family'. He didn't know what he would do without his group, regardless of the fact that they drove him nuts sometimes, he still loved them all and cared for them. If he was just left on his own... It would be terrifying. Different groups were at war all of the time with each other, there was no way Jack would be able to stand up against any of them on his own, especially considering that the smallest group that Hiccup knew of was about ten to twelve people.   
“Than again there could be the slightest chance that he's human.”   
“I highly doubt that he is though.” Astrid said, a troubled frown pulling at her lips.   
The auburn haired male looked between his best friend and his older brother for a moment before he cleared his throat. When he had both of their attention he took in a deep breath before he spoke.   
“I really like Jack, Fury.” He said, locking his gaze with mirroring emeralds. “If he is one, you're not going to....”   
Even as he trailed off he could tell that they both understood what he was getting at. He felt his stomach twist when Fury's gaze narrowed.   
“If he turns out to be a threat to us than I won't have any choice.” He stated honestly. “But-” He continued, lifting up a finger to silence Hiccup before he could start arguing, “He's so young and seemingly alone that I highly doubt he'll be a problem, in which case I'll invite him into our group.”  
“What about Aster?”   
Fury's face pinched slightly at the question almost looking as if he'd eaten something sour or rotten.   
“I... don't know. There's no signs of Aster being one of us at all, but if Jack is one of us than that makes no sense. For someone to never go through a change by his age is unheard of, even more so if it's in the family.”  
“What if Jack's adopted?” Astrid suggested, dropping her cheek against her fist. “I mean if we think about it that's the only other logical explanation.”   
“That would make sense.” Hiccup agreed, giving a small nod of his head. “If Jack's real family was wiped out in a fight than Aster's parents could have adopted him and Jack just learned to hide himself for his own protection.”   
“It could be possible, it would explain why they look so different. Nothing about them is the same at all, but I haven't seen their parents yet so I don't know if their differences could just be from the different look of the parents or different parents completely.”   
After Fury was done they all just sat there. Really there wasn't anything else to say on the matter until they could say for sure if Jack was one of them or not. Secretly Hiccup was hoping he was. If Jack was one of them than they could hangout together without Hiccup having to worry if he was going to accidentally hurt him all the time. Hiccup wouldn't have to hide anything from him and he would be able to hangout with him a lot more. They might even end up getting Fury's approval if Jack was strong enough to satisfy his 'not easily impressed' older brother.   
The more he thought about Jack being one of them the ore excited he got. The only thing he was going to have to worry about now was if Jack would be against them. He highly doubted he would be though. Jack seemed to get along with them all well enough, he might have even already know what they were too. Maybe he was just hiding like Fury said he was.   
“So what do we do?” Hiccup asked, sharing a glance between both of them once more. “I mean do we just go up and ask or...?”   
“Well we can't out ourselves if he's not.” Fury muttered, his fingers lightly tapping against the table as Astrid blew a piece of her hair out of her face.   
“You could always get some more information out of Aster.” She suggested, the tiniest of smirks coming to her lips as Fury's face went a little red no thanks to her tone. “I mean it would be easy enough wouldn't it? Just drop a question here and there and see what the answer is. If it seems to lead more towards Jack being one of us than we can try and watch him for awhile, maybe even put him up against something that would force him to use what he's got.”   
“Don't you dare hurt him.” Hiccup snapped, his voice coming out harder than he intended as Astrid lazily rolled her head until she was facing him.   
“Guy's making you feisty. I like it.”   
And there went his badass streak. Going down the river of beat red, blush face, perfect. Very manly.   
“Don't worry, I wouldn't put him in anything dangerous just in case he is human, but just a few....challenges.” She said slowly, leaning back and turning to the other two. “What do you think?”  
“Well there's really nothing else we can do.” Fury said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Tomorrow I'll ask Aster some questions and than we'll see where it goes from there. Until than however,” he added, turning over to Hiccup pointedly as his gaze narrowed just the slightest, “until I can find out what he is and what's going on I don't want you talking to him again. Even if you somehow are managing to gain more control.”   
When he turned his pointed looked to Astrid they both sunk a little in their seats. It was obvious that they didn't even have to come up with a lie to what they were doing since Fury already seemed to know.   
“Now, you two have school tomorrow, I think that you should be off to bed.”   
Seeing that both subjects were dropped they quickly got up from their seats and disappeared out of the kitchen. Hiccup let out a small yelp when Astrid threw her arm around his shoulders and pulled him in.   
“This just might all work out for you.” She grinned, helping him to feel a little more at ease with the situation as he smiled back.   
His smile was quick to drop though as another thought came to him while they started up the stairs.   
“What if he's just human though? I mean if he is than we would never be able to tell him about us. If we never tell him about us than what's he supposed to think about it if we just get up and leave or if we just act weird around him all of the time since we're hiding?” He mumbled. “I don't want to hide this from him forever if he's human Astrid.” He admitted, coming to a stop once they'd reached the top of the stairs.   
The blond sucked in her lips, her brows furrowing together as she thought. Eventually she brought a strong hand down on his shoulder and gave, what he assumed she thought was a light squeeze, in reality he thought that she was going to crush his shoulder with the 'affection' grip she gave him.   
“Let's just tackle this one step at a time.” She said, giving him a soft smile as he slowly nodded his head.   
There really wasn't anything else he could do. 

(HiJack/Bight!)

Aster let out a large sigh as he dropped himself on one of the many empty bar stools. It didn't take long for the large bartender to turn around, a huge grin on his face as he took in his favorite customer.   
“Ah, Cottontail! Long time no see yes?”   
“Ugh...”   
He didn't even bother saying a word before he dropped his head down on the table. Hearing North's deep chuckle and the grind of glass sliding across the counter Aster slowly rolled his head until the side of his face was pressed against the freshly cleaned bar top.   
“I thought friend would be joining hm?” He asked, his deep voice sounding soothing on Aster's ears as he glared up at his smiling companion. “Yet no one is with you. Strange no?”   
“I had someone with me.” Bunny muttered, trying to defend himself as he lifted his head up the tiniest bit. With a frown on his face he reached out for his drink and took a small sip, enjoying the warm path the vodka left in its trail. “He took off before I could bring him here.”   
“Ah, so, how would Jack put it?- 'ditched'?” North chuckled as he picked up an empty glass and started to clean it.  
Aster frowned at the jolly tune in the man's voice. It was bad enough that Fury had just run off but now North seemed to be enjoying pour salt into the wound.   
“You're not helping.” He mumbled, taking another sip. “I took him to see a horror movie and than he started stuttering, which he seemed super embarrassed about for some reason so to make him feel better I told him about how Jack use to stutter.” Aster shrugged as he placed the cup down, sliding it from hand to hand. “After that he seemed to get really weird and took off.”   
Since he was looking down at the bar top, Aster didn't notice North slowing his washing until it stop completely, or even the rare serious look over coming his face at the mention of what had happened. The second that he lifted his head up again however the look was gone in the link of an eye as North smiled down at him.   
“Is not complete waste of night, yes?” The jolly man asked as Aster rolled his eyes. “You got to see movie.”   
“I guess,” Aster muttered with a small shrug of his shoulders. “Just not the way I pictured it ending.”   
“Ah, there is always next time to end night in bed.” North chuckled, laughing harder when Aster choked on the next sip of his drink.   
Well, what a way to be blunt. Not that Aster was really leaning towards the night ending in the way that North was implying but he wouldn't have complained if it had ended that way. Still, is wasn't really something he wanted to hear from a family friend.   
As he tried to cough the water out of his lungs North raised a hand and gave him a strong pat on the back.   
“Is, nothing to be embarrassed 'bout.” The large man grinned, drawing his hand back to pick up another cup. “For these pass days I have not seen Jack.” North continued as Aster rubbed at his throat.   
“Ya, he's been a little busy trying to woo over the little brother of the guy I'm interested in.” He explained. “Spends nearly every waking moment over there.”   
“Hm,” North hummed, his face looking a little off as he tightened his hold around the cup. “Send him by tomorrow, I would like to see him again.”   
“Will do North.” Aster agreed, dropping his head back on the counter. “But for now I think I'm just going to wallow in the failure of tonight.”   
A snicker from his insensitive companion was the only response he got.


	11. Chapter 11

Do You Believe In Magic?  
Chapter 11

Fury glared at the smirk across Hookfang's face as he finished fussing over the bouquet of flowers he'd picked up. It if wasn't for the fact that the red headed fire ball seemed to be in an unusually good mood, he was sure he would have snapped at him. It was rare for Fang to be this smug without saying anything though and as much as the stares were irritating the hell out of him, Fury was enjoying the silence. Deciding that he was going to pick the lesser of two evils he kept his mouth shut from any smart remarks. Besides, starting a fight before heading over to the store next door to beg for forgiveness for cutting out the other night just didn't seem like a smart idea.   
“What do you think?” He asked instead, his own green gaze dropping to the colorful arrangement as he placed his hands on his hips and tilted his head to the side.   
“I think you've been struck dump by cupid.” Hook snickered, making Fury flinch slightly.   
Glaring over his shoulder he gave a small hiss, watching as Hookfang raised his hands in the air with a smile on his face.   
“I didn't say it was a bad thing.”   
Narrowing his eyes at the continuation of his odd behavior Fury couldn't help but wonder what had happened last night to put the normally smart mouthed male in such an easy going mood.   
“I kind of screwed up the date last night.” Fury explained a frown coming to his lips as he played around with the roses a little more before moving on to the lilys. “I just want to make up for it a little bit.”   
“That doesn't sound like you.” Hook put in, his voice seeming light, as if he wasn't really focused on their conversation. “What happened?”   
Pressing his lips together tightly, Fury thought about what to tell him. He didn't want to freak anyone out by telling them what he assumed Jack was, and really he didn't want to tell anyone other than Astrid and Hiccup what he had guessed and what little he knew. He was afraid that the older members would start to treat Jack like a potential enemy and that their changed attitude towards the snow haired teen would make him return the hostility. That was really the last thing he wanted to deal with. He knew it was wrong to leave his group in the dark, but he knew it was best for now if he just got all of his cards sorted before he made his next move.  
So instead he just shrugged his shoulders, coming up with a lie from the top of his head.   
“I didn't want to continue stuttering around him so I left to get it back under control.”   
That wasn't a complete lie, he had wanted to get that sorted before anything else and he had managed to get rid of it by the time he got back home.   
“Oh ya, because of that horror movie right?” Hookfang snickered.   
Crossing his arms over his chest Fury turned to face the taller male as his gaze narrowed to slits.   
“You know I don't like....wait.” He muttered, his gaze softening into confusion as he raised a brow at the other. “How did you know that we went to go see a horror movie?”   
For once Hookfang's gazes shot right open. His lips moved, making soundless words as his stance became rigid and his claws dug deep gouges into the wood of their checkout table. It looked like he was trying to come up with a lie, but it wasn't coming to him fast enough and soon enough he just gave a sheepish grin as his fingers tapped at the ruined top nervously.   
“Lucky guess? It's a thing guys normally do with their girlfriends so I just assumed...”   
Not sure if that was an insult or just some stupid slip up Fury let it go. With a sharp sigh and a roll of his eyes he scooped up the flowers and brushed off the invisible dust from the front of his form fitting black t before looking back at the red faced Hook.  
“Well? How do I look?” He asked, moving his hand up and down the front of him while bright golden eyes followed.  
“Careful you don't get eaten, unless that's what you're hoping for.”   
His face flushed red for a moment and he quickly flipped the grinning male off as he walked passed him and outside. He didn't have time to argue with Hook right now. He really did have to go in and apologize for last night.  
Taking a deep breath before he walked into the view point of Aster's shop he tried to settle his nerves. This was a lot easier to think about when he was talking to the kids last night. Now that he was actually going to have to do it today he felt a little nervous. Okay so maybe a bit more than a little nervous. This felt like it was going to be different than all of the other time he had spoken to Aster though and he could tell why.   
He wouldn't just be flirting this time and talking about this and that. He was going to try and manipulate Aster into telling him aspects of his personal life because he was trying to find out information about if his younger brother was one of them or not. It just feel so lowdown and dirty that he could feel his stomach twisting up in guilt. His feet would barely even move enough to bring him forward until he finally forced himself to do so.   
Regardless for his feelings for Aster he had a duty to protect his group first.   
Rolling his shoulders back Fury let out a long breath before he finished walking the two steps to the door.   
“Good mornin... oh, hey Fury.”   
Fury could feel a stab of guilt at the undertone of shock in the others voice. Did he think that Fury wasn't going to show up again? Did he think that he just took off and wasn't going to bother trying to explain himself even just a little bit?   
“Hey.” He greeted sheepishly. An almost shy smile coming to his lips as he held up the flowers. “Um, I got you these.” His face went even redder at how much dumber the words sounded coming out of his mouth. “You know, as an apology for running out on you last night.”   
Daring a glance up at the others face he felt a wave of relief crash over him at the amused look that adorned the others features. Aster had a small smile on his lips and his arms were crossed lightly over his chest, leaning back against the counter as he waited for Fury to finish walking into his store.   
“Really?” He asked, his tone light with amusement as he quirked a single brow upwards. “You freaked me out last night when you just took off.”   
“I know.” Fury muttered, quickly making his way up to the front and playing with the stems of the flowers in his hands. “I really am sorry about that. I didn't mean to leave or anything it's just that...”   
“Fury,” Aster grinned, shaking his head and pushing himself away from the counter, “it's alright. Something came up, I get it. You don't have to explain yourself to me.”   
As a deep breath escaped passed his lips Fury could feel the tension in his shoulders lessen. Silently he was grateful that Aster never seemed to bothered by the things he really didn't want to talk about, and he was happy that the other was more than willing to forget about it for now. It was nice to know that he was more than willing to wait for the dark haired male to feel comfortable before he would try to get him to open up about this or that or why he did certain things.   
“Um, here.” His hand jerked out, nearly shoving the flowers in Aster's face and making himself wince at the awkwardness of it all. “I know this doesn't make up for it and it's really, uh, kind of lame I guess but I just wanted to get you something to help make up for...”   
“They're great Fury.” Aster chuckled, gently taking the colorful assortment out of Fury's hands. “Thanks.”   
Happy to be saved for his fumbling Fury could feel his face grow even hotter. Normally he didn't have a problem with this. He was one of the smoothest people out of their whole group and it wasn't hard for him to lay on the charm. At this moment however it felt like his natural talents were just a hairbreadths out of reach leaving him just as awkward and jittery as his little brother.  
When he remembered the real reason he was here he felt his heart clench in guilt. He bit down on the inside of his cheek hard while he lightly knocked his tight fists against his side. Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something Aster placed a quick peck on his cheek before he smiled brightly down at the other.   
“I'm going to go place these in some water okay?” He said, his gaze making the normally well composed male able to do nothing other than just nod his head dumbly.   
He watched as Aster only chuckled while he made his way into the back, not able to take his eyes off the other even after they had long disappeared behind the swinging door. So lost in his observations was he that he didn't hear the light chiming of the bell, or even the swift footsteps as they made their way to where he was standing. Only when someone grabbed a hold of his arm and gave his a rough yank towards the store front did he finally snap out of it.   
“What!?” He snarled, his teeth inches away from whoever's face, his gaze narrowed into slits and his rage just ready to boil over.   
Upon seeing the scowl over Jack's face he blinked, his anger gone in mere seconds as he stared down at the white haired teen that looked about two seconds away from ripping into him.   
“We need to talk Fury.”   
He didn't get to put in a word before he was pulled with inhuman strength out the door and between the two stores, right into the woods. 

(***)

“Yo North.” Jack grinned, making his way into the restaurant with an air of easiness as he narrowed right in on the large man behind the glossy wood counter top. “Aster said you wanted me to drop by.”   
His smile slowly fell from his lips when he realized that North wasn't smiling. He could feel panic weld up in his own chest when he realized that there also seemed to be a troubled look over the normally jolly man expression as well. North never looked this solemn, and when he did it never lead to anything good.   
Without having to be told Jack went ahead of him and ducked into the back room. Once he was there he nodded to a few of the kitchen crew who were setting up for the day. Making his his way towards the back even more he curled around the wall that lead to a section of stairs. He shoved his shaking hands into his pockets as he jogged up them and sucked his lips into his mouth as his brows pulled together.   
The last time North had that look over his face it had been when he had told Jack and Aster that their parents had died. He knew that Aster was fine, he'd seen him just this morning, but if North was this worried he wasn't expecting any of his information to be good.   
When he reached the top of the stairs he slid his bag off his shoulder and rummaged through the pockets until he could fish out his key. Sliding the object into the lock he quickly opened it and let himself in to North's and Tooth's privet living area. Not bothering to look around the lush room filled with rich colors and comfortable furniture he made his way over to the giant window that overlooked the downtown area and yanked the curtains closed. The rings made a mad screech in protest as the slid over the metal rob, but Jack ignored the wince at the assault on his ears as he sunk into one of the many red velvet chairs.   
It seemed to be not even seconds later that North appeared through the door, the same serious expression over his face as he slid the lock into place.   
“Jack, what is name of friend Aster is with?”   
“What?” Jack felt the fear in his gut being quickly replaced by confusion at the question that was thrown to him. He didn't know if he should catch it or throw it back and demand a new one. “I'm sorry North you lost me.”   
“Aster is with someone yes?” North growled, his height and size looming over Jack even more than it would have if the boy was standing. “What is name?”   
“Fury.” Jack spat out, shaking his head while he tried to think of why this would be important. “His name is Fury Nights.”   
At the sound of the name alone North's gaze went huge, his eyes nearly seeming to pop out of his head while one of his large hands came up to press against his mouth.   
“Why does that matter?” Jack asked, pushing himself up from his seat if only so he didn't feel so small compared to the giant before him.   
“How did they meet?” North asked instead, completely ignoring the boy's question.   
Feeling a little frustrated now that he had even a less idea of what was going on Jack gave a scowl to the older man.   
“Fury owns the store next door. He must have come in for a sandwich or something I don't know.” He answered honestly, his fingers running thorough his hair in an attempt to calm himself down. “Aster didn't really tell me that.”   
“You see one of them as well?” The bigger man asked, the tip of his beard tickling Jack's forehead as he leaned in close.   
“'See one'? Uh, ya I guess.” Jack said, tilting himself away from the scratchy facial hair as he pressed one of his hands against the arm of the chair to help keep his balance. “I've been trying to catch the attention of Fury's little brother Hiccup.”   
“They are Hooligans.”   
The breath felt like it was knocked from his lungs as he staggered back. When the back of his legs hit the sofa he didn't fight it and allowed himself to drop once more into the seat. Although he could still feel that his eyes were open he wasn't seeing anything. It was as if his whole body was suspended in some sort of numb state.   
Jack felt as if the ground was shifted from beneath his feet. Hiccup, Fury, Astrid, everyone that they associated with, they were all Hooligans? How? How did he not realize that? How did he miss that?   
“Hooligans.” He echoed, the word sounding even more surreal when it fell from his own lips. “Are you sure?”   
He didn't want it to be real, it couldn't be. Hiccup wasn't a blood thirsty monster and neither was Fury. Well, at least when he was around Aster he wasn't. There were times when Jack was sure Fury was secretly picturing his end. Seeing the look over North's face however he knew that there was no way the man was lying.   
“I can't believe it.”   
“Is true Jack. Fury is leader of Hooligans. They are here. They know you are here.”   
“What?” Jack's head snapped back up, his gaze finally singling in on the giant of a man before him. “H-how could they know? I mean who told them? I didn't do anything to out myself and I didn't even...”   
“It might have been accident of Aster's. Mentioning how you use to stutter your words.”   
The next words died on Jack's tongue. Aster probably hadn't even realized what kind of danger he put Jack into with telling outsiders about that kind of thing. Sure some people in his town knew, but Jack also knew that none of them were what he was, he didn't have to worry about it. Telling outsiders though? Telling people who just stumbled upon their town? Anyone of them could have been the monsters that Jack was hiding from, and just his luck, they were.   
“Oh no. No, no, no, no.” Jack groaned, his hands coming up to cover his face as he rocked back and forth. “They're not going to kill me are they?” He asked, ripping his hands away from his face as he stared wide eyed up at North. “I mean they wouldn't right? They wouldn't bother with a one member group?”   
At this North only sighed, shaking his head as he crossed his hugely thick arms over his chest.   
“This I do not know Jack.” He stated honestly. “I only learn so much about custom before they died.”   
“Than I've got to talk to them.” Jack said, jolting to his feet again as he walked passed North. “I can make them understand, or at least to keep Aster out of it if they don't.”   
“Jack wait...”   
But he was already out the door.   
Jack wasted no time in darting out of the doors of the Red Sleigh and making his way back towards his brother's, and Fury's shops. He didn't know what he was going to say once he got there, but he knew that if they had found out about him it was only going to be a matter of time before they confronted him about it. It would just be so much easier if he was the one to get the drop on them first, show that he wasn't dangerous, or at the very least, that he wasn't stupid enough to attack a whole group when there was only one of him and tons of them.   
Just as he was about to march his way passed his bother's own store he caught sight of the two inside. Aster was just pulling away from a quick kiss and he couldn't see Fury's face from where he was but the other was just standing there, doing nothing other than watching his brother disappear in the back.   
With a possessive growl in his throat Jack threw open the door and marched inside.


	12. Chapter 12

Do You Believe In Magic?  
Chapter 12

By the time Jack had dragged them deeply into the woods and Fury felt somewhat hopelessly lost, the only thing he could find himself thinking about was Aster. No doubt he would be disappointed to see that Fury had disappeared once again without so much as two words as to why. Growling lowly to himself he finally ripped his arm away from Jack. He didn't care what the other thought they had to talk about, he refused to take another step that would only double his distance away from Aster.   
“What is this about Jack?”   
He watched as Jack's shoulders drew up to his ears for a moment, almost as if hearing Fury speaking his name was like nails on a chalk board. As Jack slowly turned around to face him he shoved his hands into his pockets and kept sharp green orbs locked onto the boy's every movement. There was something off about Jack and he wasn't going to relax around him until he knew what it was.   
“It's about nothing really.” Jack said, his voice nowhere close to the playful tones that he was well known for. “I just have a few questions that I wanted to ask.”   
“And you had to drag me out here to do it?” Quirking his brow up Fury took a quick glance around. “This isn't normally how people hold interrogations.”   
“Well you know,” Jack hissed, his voice laced heavily with sass as his bright baby blues narrowed in on him, “when you don't want to drag humans into the crossfire it's more than ideal.”   
Oh.   
Fury kept his gaze carefully blank, his stance relaxed while he took in a deep breath from his noes. He didn't want to show any form of aggression towards the boy right now. Regardless of the fact that the way that Jack was going about this was just downright rude he knew that any hostility towards the boy wouldn't lead to anything good. Jack was just a young cub and Fury wouldn't put it passed him to start a fight he had no chance of winning if he was startled enough.   
“So you know than?” He hummed, his eyes carefully taking in the way that Jack's shoulders shifted just a little bit higher.   
“That you're the leader of the Hooligans? Ya.” Jack snarled, his teeth longer and thicker than they had been only moments ago.   
Fury could feel his own form begging to shift to show this boy who was the alpha here, but it would only make matters worse and he knew it. So instead he let out a sigh and leaned back against one of the many trees that surrounded them.   
“Stand down Jack.” He muttered. “I'm not going to hurt you.”   
“Its not me that I'm worried about.” Jack snapped, although his shoulders did relax slightly and some of the tension in his body seemed to disappear.   
“You're worried about Aster?” Fury asked, his brows pulling together and his head tilting to the side. “Why? I wouldn't do anything to hurt your brother.”   
“That's not what I've heard. Everyone knows what the Hooligans are known for.”   
At that little reminder Fury could feel a stab of pain come to his chest. He opened his mouth to defend himself before he change his mind and snapped it shut once more. He didn't owe Jack an explanation, and if that's what everyone else thought too than fine. He didn't care what they said about him because he knew to some it was true. The Hooligans were known for mercilessly ending the lives of entire packs, but no one had any reason as to why. If they knew what Fury knew about the packs they wouldn't have thought so badly about them, but it wasn't in him to feel the need to justified his actions.   
“I wouldn't hurt Aster, Jack.” He assured, giving a small bow of his head. “You have my word.”   
Seconds ticked by without either of them looking away from the other. It was as if they were trying to read into each other, see what the other was thinking and know what they were going to do next. Fury made sure to keep himself nonchalant though while his mind tried to come up with some questions for the boy that he wouldn't take as some sort of mind manipulation tactic.   
“You know,” he said slowly after another moments pause while Jack flinched, “this conversation wasn't supposed to happen for awhile yet. We were just going to watch you for a bit, see how much of a threat you were and than ask you some questions.”   
“Well,” Jack scoffed, a smirk coming to his lips as his eyes narrowed sharply, “looks like I beat you to it.”   
“That you did.” Fury agreed, his tone flat and his arms slowly raising to cross over his chest. “Just so I know though Jack, how is Aster not one of us?”   
In all honesty Fury didn't know if Aster really wasn't one of them and was just really good at hiding it, or if he really was just human. Thankfully Jack didn't know that though and he seemed to ease up a little bit at the lack of accusing questions.   
“He's adopted.”   
“Oh?” Fury muttered, his brows pinching together as he found himself suddenly very interested to hear this story. “How did that happen? What happened to his parents?”   
“I'm not answering that.” Jack growled, his stance once again becoming tense.   
Seeing that he was going to get nowhere at this rate Fury decided to change tactics.   
“You know normally when you get into an area where another group lives you can smell them everywhere. In the stores, on the streets, even all over the people who brush against them. When me and my group got here we had no idea that there was someone else already living here because there wasn't anyone's scent on anything.” He said, his eyes taking in the way that Jack's hands clenched into tight fists. “Tell me Jack, why is it that your group hasn't done that?”   
“Because I'm the only one left.” Jack snapped, his eyes glowing for a mere second while Fury felt his own body tense. “And I didn't think it was smart to flaunt that around.”   
“Easy Jack.” Fury warned. “Trust me when I say that making me your enemy would end very badly for you.”   
At his words Jack's rage faltered, his eyes widening while his mouth slipped open, leaving himself open in honest confusion.   
“You mean you don't want to fight me?” He questioned while Fury pulled a face at him.   
“No. Why would you think I would?”   
“I don't know.” Jack said, his whole body relaxing as he flopped down on one of the fallen trees. “I thought I was going to have to fight you in order for you to hear me out.”   
Well why would he think that? Than again if he didn't have anyone here to teach him he guessed that it also made sense.   
“No Jack.” Fury chuckled, feeling more at ease as he moved to take a seat by the boy. “I have no interest in hurting you at all. Hiccup would never speak to me again if I did.”   
At hearing the sound of his little brother's name Jack's head snapped around to face him.   
“Is this why Hiccup's been avoiding me lately? Because he knows and you didn't want him around me?”   
“Um, no.” Fury said as he gave a small shrug of his shoulders. “We didn't actually really know that you were one of us until just now actually. That's why we were going to watch you.” He supplied, knowing he would need to say more at the frown over Jack's face. “He just changed so he doesn't have very good control yet and I didn't want him to hurt anyone so I told him not to get to close to other humans.”   
“Aw.” Jack cooed, his arms coming up to wrap around himself while a stupidly large grin came to his face. “He's so sweet.”   
Wincing at the love struck teen Fury couldn't help but wonder if this was how he looked to some of the members in his group. If so he cold understand why they poked fun at him and he wondered if maybe he could ask someone to give him a good slap to snap him out of it. When he thought about the fact that if someone really did slap him they'd be losing their hand he thought against it.   
Turning his attention back to the much calmer now teen Fury leaned back on his hands.   
“Regardless of what you've heard about the Hooligans,” he started, snapping Jack's attention back to him, “we don't start fights, and we don't go around looking for them either, but we don't lose.” When Jack's gaze narrowed Fury turned his gaze away from him as he instead took to looking at the slowly changing leaves. “Listen Jack, we weren't going to hurt you in anyway, but I can't be putting my group in danger either. If I think you're a threat to us I will do what I think is right and get rid of you. That being said,” he continued, his voice carrying a more stern tone when Jack opened his mouth to interrupt, “I don't see how you could be when you're obviously so infatuated with my brother and wouldn't do anything to hurt him.”  
“Never.” Jack agreed, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.   
“Good.” Fury muttered, staring at the boy from the corner of his eye. “Now that we have that all sorted out I have a few questions to ask you, and they will lead to serious situations so I would appreciate it if you thought about them before making a choice.”   
“Okay?”   
Shifting on the tree until he was facing the boy with his legs crossed Fury looked him straight in the eye.   
“If you're a cub and you're on your own it is a well known fact that another group is allowed to take you in.” Fury said, not sure if anyone had been able to explain this to Jack before they had all passed away. “However you have to know that if you do join our group than there are some rules you have to follow. You will be expected to train with us and share in our work load. Our fights become yours, and if we ever leave, you must come with us.”   
“What about Aster?”   
Fury took in a deep breath as he looked over the face of the younger male. He couldn't imagine what he was asking of Jack to join them. He couldn't imagine agreeing to the same thing if he were in Jack's position and they were talking about separating him from Hiccup. For what he could tell Aster was all Jack had left, and he was telling him that there might come a day when Jack would just have to up and leave his home behind, and his brother along with it.   
“Unless Aster knows about us and is with us, he would have to be left behind.”   
Jack's tongue quickly darted out to wet his dry lips while he shifted on the tree. His eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed together as he seemingly glared at the rough bark underneath his fingertips while Fury waited for his answer.   
“What happens if I don't take this offer?” He asked, his eyes darting up to look at Fury dead on, no doubt to check out his reaction.   
“If you don't choose to be a part of our group than that is your decision and we will respect it. But, depending on what the group decides as a whole you could end up being labeled as a hostile and that would not end up well.”  
“So what you're really telling me is that I have to join your group, which may end with me being separated from my brother, or I could be killed.” Jack said, his voice flat while Fury let out a long sigh.   
“When you say it like that it sounds bad.” The darker haired male said, placing his hands on his knees. “Why don't you just tell Aster what you really are? I know that he cares for you. He wouldn't hate you for it.”   
At his words Jack let out a bark of laughter. A sound that was more harsh and wicked than joyful and soothing, causing Fury to flinch as the boy rocked himself to his feet.   
“Oh yes he would.” Jack smirked, his eyes not nearly as amused as his features let on. “We were the ones who killed his parents.”


	13. Chapter 13

Do You Believe In Magic?  
Chapter 13

When Fury had first met Jack, he was actually rather impressed with the amount that the boy could talk. It never seemed to matter what the conversation was, he would just pick something and run with it for hours, bounching around from one thing to another like a kid with ADHD on a sugar rush. That being said it seemed to be that the only thing he wouldn't talk about, was the one thing that Fury wanted to know about most.   
After Jack had let it slip that his family were the ones responsible for killing Aster's original family, the boy had become just as tighted lipped as bark on a tree. He refused to utter another word after no matter how gently Fury proded. There was a determination set ing his eyes that both annoyed Fury and impressed him. It's not like it was going to be to hard to find out. Just taking a few minutes to go through the towns old newspapers should inform him as to what had happened, but still. It would have been nice to just be told what had happened.   
As the situation sat now however they were both heading back out of the woods. Fury had to follow after Jack for a portion of it, but by now he could smell the town drawing closer. Once they got there though he wasn't sure what to do.   
He'd laid down the rules to Jack. It was either join them, and leave Aster behind if the situation called for it, or he could continue lone wolfing it, in whichcase Fury couldn't garentee just what might happen to him.   
Although he would have very much prefured for Jack to join them, Hiccup would just be jumping over the moon with joy he was sure, he could understand about Aster being an issue. If what Jack had said was true, than just how would Aster react to not only finding out that magic was real, but that his parents had been killed by it? Just what would he do or say to Jack if or once he found out? As badly as Fury wanted to tell Aster about himself, he knew that it was stricky prohibited unless he planed to make the other his mate. That wasn't something he was willing to do if by telling Aster he'd be outing Jack. As a rule they did not out their own kind to humans.   
“When do I have to let you know?”   
Jack's question jarred Fury out of his thoughts, drawing him back to the here and now as he glanced at the boy out of the corner of his eye.   
“By the ending of next week.”   
That wasn't really enough time to give him when choosing such a big desision, but as it was, Fury couldn't afford to give him anymore. He was going to have to tell his group soon now that he knew for sure, and there were going to be some members of his group that weren't going to take to well to another pack, even if it was only a cub, being in their area. While he was sure that Meatlug would be fine, hell she'd probably even baby him with or without him being in their group, he couldn't say that about the rest. They were far to suspisious, far to battle ready around other packs, the last thing he wanted was for someone to attack Jack since they didn't know if he would be a threat or not.   
As they stepped out of the woods and back into town, Fury reached out and took a hold of Jack's arm. The action was gentle enough so as not to startle the boy, but Jack still jump regardless. As blue snapped up to meet with green Fury made sure to keep himself calm and nonthreatening. The last thing he wanted right now was for Jack to get up in arms again.   
“Listen Jack,” he started, keeping his voice soft as Jack kept his lips firmly sealed, “I know that this isn't going to be an easy choice to make, but maybe you should think of teeling your brother what happened.”   
“He'd never believe me.” Jack shot out, his gaze finally dropping to glare at the ground. “And I wouldn't want him to. He'd never forgive me if he found out what happened.”   
“Jack you don't...”   
“This is my choice.” Jack said firmly, raisng his gaze once more as he starightened out his shoulders and pushed his chest out. “This is my desision to make. Not yours.”   
Jack might have still been to young to have a rank, but Fury could already tell that once he grew out of his juvinal sate he was going to be an alpha. If he did end up joining their group and make Hiccup his mate it was going to be intresting. Two alphas together was defiantly going to be entertaining.   
“Understood.” Fury muttered, respecting the others stand on the situation as he let him go.   
Jack wasn't under his rule yet, he didn't have to submit to Fury. As far as Fury was concerned he was the Alpha in his own pack. Fury could only hope it wasn't going to make him stupid.   
When Jack didn't continue to move on however the darker haired male waited for him to say what was on his mind. It was obvious that there was something else that he wanted to talk about, and Fury wasn't going to go anywhere until he'd answered just as many of Jack's questions as he could.   
“I was wondering though...” Jack muttered, all the confidance from before seeming to melt away as he stood sheepish and young before the other, “am I, well you know me and Hic... are we still allowed to hangout with each other for now?”   
Drawing his brows together in thought Fury turned his gaze upward.   
“Hiccup still doesn't have full control of his shift yet, or of any of his abilities. At this moment he could accidently harm you if you're around him, exspesially since it's you. He doesn't think straight when you're close and it's much easier for him to lose his focus. For now I'm going to have to say no. When he gets a little better, or if someoens around to keep an eye on him, than fine, but no alone time.”  
“I can live with that.” Jack said quickly, his grin nearly splitting his face in half as Fury couldn't help the small grin that pulled at his lips.   
With a sigh though his frown returned. “That's only until you make your choice though. If you say no than you won't be able to be around Hiccup. He's one of our youngest cubs and you will be seen as a threat if you're around him.”   
At this Jack quickly sobered up once more.   
“Right.” He mumbled, his gaze dropping back to the ground as he kicked at the stones beneath his feet. “That makes sense.”   
“I'm sorry Jack.” Fury sighed, dropping his hand on the others shoulder in some awkward form of comfort. “I don't wish this on you anymore than you do but you know how our kind is.”   
“No, I don't.”   
Without another word Jack knocked Fury's hand from his shoulder and turned on his heels, heading to the mouth of the alley that would lead to the main street.   
Not knowing what else to do Fury simply stood there. He really had nothing else to say or to run by Jack. It was all in the albino's hands now. All Fury could do was wait.   
Just as Jack was about to turn however Fury found a question of his own popping up into his mind.   
“Jack!” He called out, the boy stopping in his tracks upon hearing his name. “What kind are you?”   
Jack's lips pulled back into a particular nasty snarl before he replied. “Icebane!”   
With that as his parting words Jack took off down the street.   
Fury on the other hand found his mouth slipping open in shock. An Icebane? The Skrill Icebane? Skrills themseleves were scares, their colder brothers even more so. While Skrills themselves weren't as rare to find as Night Fury's they were defiantly up there. Lately there had been less and less of them too. Fury wouldn't be surprised to find out that they were going to become just as hard to find as Night Furys some time soon. How was it that he was all the way down here though? Weren't they normally further up north?   
Now he couldn't help but hope that Jack was going to choose to stick with them. He didn't want to be known as the group that took out one of the few remaining of the dwindling spesious. He really didn't need to add that to their rep.   
With a long sigh he made to follow after Jack's lead.   
It was only once he was out of the mouth of the alley that he remembered that he'd once again left Aster without a word.   
Dropping his head back Fury cursed silently to the world and to himself. 

(***)

“Thank you, have a great day.”   
Aster kept his smile up just long enough for the girl to leave the store. Once the doors had swong shut and he was left alone again he allowed the happy glow to slid from his face. He was really starting to wonder just what was up with Fury. While he told the other that he didn't need to know about why he would suddenly get up and go it was really starting to become a bit of an annoying habit with the guy. It seemed that every time that Aster took his eyes off of him he would just vanish.   
With a long sigh Aster dropped his chin into the palm of his hand, his eyes drifting over to the flowers that stood proudly in the vase by the cash.   
As far as flowers went they were really nice. Aster actually found that he enjoyed the soft colors that the other had picked out and although he didn't know just what kind they were he couldn't help but wonder. Maybe when he got home he'd look it up on the internet or something.   
Hearing the chime he gave another sigh and straightened himself out, getting ready to smile for yet another person.   
Upon seeing Jack storming through the door he allowed himself to look confused.   
“Uh...”  
“Not right now Aster.” Jack snapped, marching passed the silver haired male and into the back room.   
Okayyy... Had he missed something? Jack had seemed fine this morning. Sure he was a little upset about what had been happening with Hiccup but it was unusal for him to be this upset over something. Besides that fact he didn't really seem upset at all, he seemed to be enraged.   
Glancing at the clock Aster decied to give his brother a few minutes to cool down, or steam, until he would go check on him. Until than he was sure there were countless other things that he could do. Like wipe the tables... if he hadn't already done that about six times. Well than maybe he could spray the windows. Seeing them gleam however he remembered that he'd already done that over a few time today too. Giving a quick look around the store he found that there wasn't anything he hadn't already cleaned and than recleaned.   
It had been a dead day... and he might have been a little figgity since Fury left and cleaning helped him think.   
Taking a look at the clock again he wondered if he had giving Jack enough time. Well, he supposed that two minutes was just as good as ten.   
Just as he turned to head into the back the bell chimed again. Tossing a look over his shoulder he felt his confussion growing when he spotted Fury standing in the door. Glancing at the door that his brother was behind Aster let out a sigh and turned back to face Fury.   
“Fury I'd love to talk but I think that Jack needs me right now.”   
Fury shifted where he was, looking just as awkward and out of place as he had that morning when he'd stopped by. If he had something that he wanted to say though he was going to have to spit it out because Aster really did need to get to his brother.   
“Ya I know just...”   
“Go away Fury.”   
Jack's voice suddenly appearing right next to him made Aster jump, but he didn't have time to say anything as his little brother grabbed his arm and gave him a good yank back.   
“I don't want you around us till I've made up my mind.”   
Jack's word was final as he pulled a very confused Aster into the back room. Really he must ave missed something huge between the two because Aster had no idea what was going on at all.   
Sure he was aware that Jack and Fury didn't really get along all that well, but he hadn't thought that they out right hated each other either. In fact other than seeming a little annoyed with Jack every once and awhile Fury didn't seem to have any problems with Jack. Now that he thought of it Jack had never seemed to hate Fury either. Sure he was intimidated by him but out right rage wasn't something that Aster had ever picked up from his brother.   
“Um, did I miss something?”   
Jack ignored him, walking over to the table and flopping down on one of the chairs that surrounded it. His brows were drawn together deeply in thought, and he was muttering lowly under his breath so quickly that Aster couldn't even read his lips. All in all, his brother looked a littleee crazy.   
“Ah, Jack?”   
“We can't hangout with anyone from Fury's group until I figure some stuff out Aster.” Jack said, his voice short while Aster raised a brow.   
“Do I get a say in this?” He questioned, taking a seat across from his brother.   
“No.”   
“Okay,” straightening up in his seat he placed his hands on the table and narrowed his gaze at his brother. “what is going on? This isn't like y...”   
“Aster,” Jack inturupted, his hand coming up to press at the space between his eyes. “please just give me some time to think. I can't... I just...”   
“I understand.” Aster cut his brother off, saving him from what would have turned into an endless jumble of nothingness. When Jack finally looked up at his brother Aster dropped his chin into his hand. “Well, I don't really understand what's going on.” H admited, “but I can see that there's obviously something going on and if you need time to think it through than fine. I'll give you time to do so, but when you've got everything in order please let me know.”   
“Thanks Aster.” Jack's smile was small, but real, and that was better than nothing.   
Giving a smile back to his brother he reached out and ruffled his hair playfully.   
“No problem Snowflake. Just know that I'm here if you need me.”   
At his words Jack's good mood fell. His bright blue eyes dimmed while he turned his gaze back to the top of the table with a nod of his head.   
“Thanks bro.”   
Unsure of what he had said to upset the other Aster decided to leave it there. He had n idea what had happened in the last few hours since he'd seen Jack last but something big must have happened. He couldn't wait to find out what it was so that he could help him. After all they were brothers, through thick and thin, and Aster hated to see his brother being anything but happy.


	14. Chapter 14

Do You Believe in Magic?

Chapter 14

It had been four days, and Jack still hadn't come to a decision. He could tell that his silence was getting to Aster, but true to his word Aster allowed him his time to think and didn't push. He would never understand just how much his little brother appreciated his understanding but even so Jack still hadn't made his choice.

He'd avoid Hiccup and the rest of his group at school, and it seemed that anyone from the House Of Lies was giving them a lot of room as well. Neither group wanted to step on the others toes but he didn't have much longer until they would throw that courtesy to the wind and knock down his door.

Before his parents had died they were starting to teach Jack the basics of how to interact with other groups. It was just too bad that they had barely even started the lessons and that there was none of their kind left to teach him as he grew older. Sure, North was a great family friend and knew about them, but there was only so much a human could know about their kind before they were deemed to know too much and would have to be hunted.

As it was now he was sitting at the desk of his room, a list of pros and cons written out before him as he stared at the bright blue wall in front of him. He'd rarely ever used his desk before, never able to be able to sit in one place for very long, but this was important and deserved all of the attention he could give it.

If he joined Fury's group he knew that he would be safe. They would look after him like one of their own and he could actually learn things about their kind, things that North wasn't able to teach him. But... it would also mean that he would have to leave Aster behind, that there would be countless things that he would have to keep from his brother. He couldn't do that. Aster meant way too much to him to throw to the side like that.

Still, if he didn't take their offer than there was always the other outcome. That they would deem him to dangerous, that they would try and chase him out of their area, that they would fight him for it. There were so many of them, they were all so skilled, and Fury was an absolutely dominating Alpha, there would be no way that he could do anything to stop them. It would either lead to him being run out of town, or killed.

All in all, on the one hand he had a pack that he could belong to and learn from, but that would mean leaving Aster at a moment's notice. Or- he could say no and then be hunted down until his end.

He shuttered as the stories that he'd been told sprang up into his mind. Everyone, no matter how out of the loop with the different packs they were, knew just what the Hooligans did to those who stood in their way. While it wasn't uncommon by any means for packs to fight to the death over something like territory, these guys were notoriously known for their brutal and merciless methods. He'd even heard rumors that they started training the kids as soon as they were able to open their eyes. Jack only had the experience of a few school fights and the rare chances he got to go hunting in the woods in the cover of darkness in his shifted form when he could sneak away from the house.

Compared to them he had nothing. There would be nothing that he could do in order to fight back.

The only relief that he had was knowing that regardless of his choice, they wouldn't go after Aster.

Letting out a long sigh he dropped his pen, bringing his hands up to rub over his face as he dropped his head back.

None of these ideas were new, they were the same ones he'd been going over and over again. There was one thing that he occasionally went to but always quickly backed out of as well.

What if he told Aster?

He knew that his brother wouldn't believe him, but he was sure that there was no way that Aster could deny it if he could show him his shifted form. But it wasn't the 'getting him to believe it' part that bothered him. It was what he was supposed to tell Aster after he knew.

Sure, when his parents had accidently killed Aster's in the crossfire, Jack had only been about four at the time. Honestly, he hadn't even known that they were the ones responsible for it until he was nine and had moved in with North and Aster after his own parents had died. He'd been horrified to say the least when he found out, with North being a family friend and Aster living with the man after his parents had died Jack had spent a lot of his younger years growing up with the guy, in fact he couldn't remember a time when Aster hadn't been around. But even though he had nothing to do with it and wouldn't have been able to at his age, he'd always felt really guilty.

If he told Aster what he was, he was going to have to tell him everything. He was going to have to let him remember everything.

Maybe he was making a selfish choice. Maybe the choice that Fury had given him wasn't just his to answer alone. Whichever choice he made was going to affect both of them in a big way. By leaving Aster completely out of it he was taking away any choice that the guy had. He wouldn't have been picking one or the other for the good of both of them. He would have been picking the better choice for himself.

But...would Aster even want to remember?

He'd been there. He'd seen what had happened to his parents. He'd been the one to hold them as their life slowly faded from them. Would he really want to remember that? Wouldn't it be better for him to just have all of that blocked out of his mind? North had worked really hard to slowly take away any memories of magic that Aster might have had, and sometimes Jack would still hear him screaming from the nightmares, memories of that day that he couldn't recall in the morning but always left him shaken to the core.

Just what on earth was he supposed to do?

"Hey, Frostbite?"

Tilting his head back just a little further over the back of the chair Jack stared at the one he'd been thinking about as the silver haired male gave him a small smile.

"Hiccup's at the door snowflake."

At the sound of the boy's name Jack snapped back to a rigid spine, his gaze glued to the wall as he tried not to show how much he was freaking out internally.

Fury had told him that it would be okay to see the boy, but he had said that they were only aloud to meet under supervision. He thought that he'd been pretty clear on his avoidance of Hiccup, and that the boy knew just what was going on. So, what on earth was he doing here?

"Um, ah..." He wasn't sure what to say, or even really what to do. Was this some sort of test? Was Fury waiting down the hall to see if he would let his little brother in and go against the rules that Fury had laid out? "He can come in if he wants."

Oh, no. That was a bad choice. Bad Jack.

There was no way that he could take back his statement however as Aster smiled at him and ducked outside of his doorway.

Shooting to his feet Jack's eyes darted frantically around his room, noticing the dirty dishes laying everywhere, the mixture of clean and dirty laundry thrown hazardlessly in the corner and the general untidiness of his room that made it appear as if some type of war had gone on just a few minutes ago.

Well, this was definitely not going to impress the boy any.

With a small yelp he quickly darted around his room, grabbing up handfuls of this and that and carelessly tossing them into his closet. When he could hear something shatter from the inside he winced. He was going to have to make sure not to cut himself on anything in there when he went to clean it. If he ever got around to it that is.

He just managed to dash back to his seat, snapping his notebook shut seconds before his door opened. Spinning around on his heels he gave a small smile to the other two in the doorway.

"Hey."

A sheepish smile was set over Hiccup's face in return, Aster giving a roll of his eyes along with his own grin.

"Leave your door open Jack." Aster said as he gently pushed Hiccup inside while the boy gave him a look over his shoulder while Jack's face went beat red.

"Aster!"

Even after his brother drifted away from his door he could still hear his laughter float down the hall. Scowling at his door he firmly crossed his arms over his chest before marching over to it. Hiccup gave a small squeak, stepping out of the way of the determined teen before Jack slammed the door shut. He waited a few seconds, fuming on the other side as he stood there staring at it before letting out a huff. Opening the door a crack he called down the hall.

"Okay! Fine!"

He really didn't want Aster to barge in his room if Hiccup wanted to talk about what he thought he wanted to talk about. They were just going to have to speak in huffed tones and Aster was going to have to think that they were just whispering sweet nothing or something. Although he really would have preferred that they could do that he knew that Hiccup was obviously here for a much different reason.

Turning around to face the boy he took in the auburn haired male for a moment. Hiccup just stood there patiently, seemingly not able to move an inch unless he was instructed to do so. Jack couldn't help but wonder if that was just something that other packs did when they entered into another groups territory, or if this was strictly a Hiccup thing.

Fury had said that the boy could shift now, but he hadn't had the ability for very long. Maybe this was his way on showing Jack that he didn't mean any harm, that he wasn't going to try and do anything that could hurt the boy.

"Um, you can sit on the bed." He muttered, quickly waving his hand to his desk at the color that floored the freckled cheeks moments later. "Or the chair it doesn't matter."

"Thanks."

While Hiccup wandered towards the chair, Jack slowly followed after him, hopping up on the bed once he was close enough. They didn't say anything to each other, barely able to look at one another for more than a few seconds before their eyes would dart elsewhere.

"It's a, it's a nice room that you've got here." Hiccup said, Jack's bright blue eyes turning to watch him as his own green orbs searched around the room.

"I highly doubt you came here to ask for interior advice." Jack muttered, catching Hiccup's attention as he finally brought their gazes to meet.

"You'd be right."

Jack could feel his stomach twist in anticipation as he waited to hear the real reason that Hiccup had stopped by.

"Fury doesn't want me to hang around you, not unsupervised anyways."

"Ya." Hiccup mumbled with a roll of his eyes before his attention turned towards his sleeve. "Trust me, I've been given the lecture."

Not sure what to do with that information Jack sat in silence. He had no idea what to make of this or just why Hiccup was here. He still had three days to make up his mind. Maybe this was Hiccup trying to tell him to hurry up and make his choice.

"I wanted to check up on you."

Jack deflated a little at the words, not realizing how tense he was until he rolled onto his back. Staring up at the ceiling he allowed his arms to fall out to his side, seeing nothing.

"I have no idea what I'm doing or what I'm supposed to do. Either your brother is going to kill me or I'm going to lose Aster."

Hiccup was silent, the only proof that he was still there being the sound of him shifting on the chair. Jack gave a small start when the boy was suddenly snuggled up to his side, staring down at him with his eyes blown wide open as Hiccup rested his head on his chest.

"Fury isn't going to kill you." He mumbled, bringing one hand up to rest across Jack's chest. "But I honestly can't say anything for any of the other members." Hiccup sighed.

Jack wasn't sure what he was supposed to do, or what he was allowed to do as his hand hovered a few inches above the boy's shoulder. Not seeing how it could possibly make anything any worse he finally lowered his hand down, wrapping it around the small body in his arms as he pulled Hiccup just a little bit closer.

"I don't know what to do." Jack admitted, his attention turning back to the ceiling while he tried to conjure up an answer to his problems.

"I really want to help you Jack." Hiccup said. "But they won't listen to me. Everyone's still freaked out over what happened the last time we let a loner in our pack. Hook is constantly fighting with Fury over it."

Jack found his interest peaking at that. Fury had told him that his pack took in strays, but he hadn't elaborated much on it.

"What happened last time?" He questioned.

When Hiccup went to pull away Jack found himself giving out a small whine. It didn't stop him from pulling away however and Jack found himself sitting up alongside him.

"I shouldn't be telling you this."

His words only peeked Jack's interest even more as the boy bit down on his bottom lip, his gaze shifting over to the side in order to avoid looking at the white haired teen.

Feeling slightly bad for making the boy this nervous Jack shifted up close to him, gently bumping his head against his cheek as he wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Don't tell me if it'll get you in trouble."

Hiccup only let out a small scoff and a shake of his head.

"Oh, I'm already going to get in a lot of trouble for being here. I don't think that this will make it much worse."

With that as his answer, Jack waited to hear just what it was that the boy had to say.

"The last time we picked up a stray was about two years ago. He was a whispering death that we just happened to stumble upon. He wasn't young but he was injured and Fury couldn't leave him there so he brought him in. The guy was only supposed to stay until he got better, but...well, long story short, he tried to take over our pack, but not by killing Fury." Jack could feel the boy start to shake in his hold and couldn't help but wonder just where this story was going. As Hiccup's fingers gently pulled at the hem of his pants however he found his eyes following the movement. "He..."

"HICCUP!"

Both boys jumped at the sudden screech of his name. Snapping their gazes towards Jack's door they clung to each other in absolute fear seconds before it was thrown open.

A fuming Astrid stood there, her gaze absolutely blazing as she zeroed in on the boy in Jack's arms.

"Astrid!" Hiccup squeaked, jumping away from Jack and to his feet in the blink of an eye. "How did you..?"

"Oh please!" She hissed, her voice absolutely venomous as she stormed up to him. "I'm not an idiot! I knew where you were heading the second I saw you sneak out of the house! You're lucky I told Fury that you just had to run to school to grab something or else you both would be in big..."

"Um, what's going on here?"

All of the teens turned their gaze to Aster as he stood, leaning against the doorway of Jack's bedroom, one brow cocked as he stared down at the sea of shorter kids.

None of them knew what to say, their gaze shifted back and forth between each other before Hiccup took the lead, stepping in front of Astrid while Jack shifted off of his bed.

"Sorry for my friend's sudden intrusion Aster." He said, a smile over his face as he reached out and grabbed a hold of Astrid's wrist. "She was just coming to get me for dinner. Fury hates it when we're late for that kind of thing you know?"

Although Aster nodded his head along with the boy, Jack highly doubted that he was buying it.

"I'll uh, we'll, see you around Jack." Hiccup said, carefully making his way around the older male before they were out of sight.

Jack on the other hand let out a long sigh, flopping back onto his bed and covering his eyes with his hands.

Well now he had even more questions than before and still no answer to his problem.

"What on earth was all that about?"

Lifting his hands up just enough in order to look at his brother, Jack wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. He didn't want to keep lying to the guy but at the same time he still wasn't sure if he wanted him to know everything yet either.

He needed to talk to someone, someone who would be able to help him out a little bit with what was going on that would know more than Aster did but would attack him like Fury might.

He needed to talk to North again.

Sitting up he plastered a grin on his face as he gave a large shrug of his shoulders, his hands slipping into the pocket of his hood as he walked up to the older male.

"You know. Crazy teens and all that jazz." Jack said, nudging his brother with his shoulder before he grinned up at him. "Hey, would you mind if I ran over to North's after dinner? I want to talk to him about something?"

He didn't like the flash of hurt that crossed over Aster's face, but he knew that his brother would understand that there were some things that each of them could only talk to North about. As Aster forced a smile over his own face and gave a nod of his head Jack couldn't help a sudden stab to his heart over the idea of losing him if this was all going to go south.

"Sure thing Snowflake." Aster said, throwing his arms around his shoulders as he pulled the boy out of his room and into the hall. "Actually, I have some cookies that you could bring to North to if you'd like. I just made them."

"Between you and me I don't think that he needs anymore." Jack snickered, a warm feeling spreading through his chest as Aster chuckled along with him.


	15. Chapter 15

Do You Believe In Magic?

Chapter 15

"North!" Jack grinned, waving his hand in the air giddily while he carried a giant, bright red box in the other.

Quite a few people in the bar turned to look at him, wondering just what a kid his age was doing in the establishment at this hour. North himself only gave a chuckle and a shake of his head. Jack knew that he'd been told countless times that he wasn't supposed to come into the pub after eight, after all that's when it went full bar mode and only people over the age of nineteen or over were allowed in. But North also had to know that Jack was never going to listen to that rule, and he couldn't say no to Jack, especially when he brought a bin full of Aster's famous cookies.

"Jack! Get behind counter now!" North called, a giant grin over his face as he made his way over to the side in order to lift the door up for the boy.

With a spring in his step Jack ducked under the partly open door, spinning around to keep North's grabby hands away from the cookies before he gave a little hop out of his reach.

"Not so fast big guy. If you want the cookies we have to talk first."

North frowned at him in mock anger, but it didn't last long before a warm smile was on his face.

"Fine. Fine. You drive a hard bargain, yes? Gustav! Take over counter!"

A clumsy tall brunet scurried over to the giant of a man, quickly muttering out an acceptance of the role before he turned to serving customers.

"We go talk." North said, walking up to Jack by the door to the kitchen as they both headed through.

"Ya, it would probably be best to have this conversation at the house." Jack muttered, his smile finally falling from his lips as he looked up at his guardian.

North eyed him for a moment, his own grin slowly shrinking down into a more concerned frown while he threw an arm around Jack's shoulders.

"Yes. We talk. Upstairs."

Nodding his head to show that he heard Jack and North made their way to the back door and up the stairs to his home. Apparently North had left it unlocked as he simply reached out and twisted the knob to get it open. Once they were inside Jack placed the container down on the end table right inside the door and walked over to one of the many plush couches. With a long sigh he turned around and dropped himself on it, his long legs swinging up to drape themselves over the armrest on the other side.

North didn't push him to talk straight away. Ignoring the cookies for now he instead walked over to his window and pulled the curtains closed. After he was done that he got the fireplace started, taking his time with the task and giving Jack some time to think.

Jack was honestly grateful for that. He had enough going on in his mind that he needed to sort out. He hadn't told North much of anything of what had gone on between him and Fury, and he was really hoping to finally have another opinion on this.

"I spoke to Fury, and he gave me to options."

North's head tilted to the side a little bit to show that he was listening, but he didn't turn away from his task of starting the fire. Oddly enough it was more comfortable to not be facing North when he was having this conversation. It felt strangely as if Jack was simply talking to himself out loud.

"Either I can join his group, or I don't. If I join his group I become one of his members which means that I would have to train and pitch in and all of that, which isn't too bad, but if anything, we to happen and we would need to leave than I would have to just pick up and go without telling Aster anything."

Running his hands down his face Jack let out a loud groan, rolling his eyes back for a moment while he tried to rethink his other option.

"If I don't want to be a part of their pack than Fury said that's fine, but that he can't guarantee my safety from his other pack members. I have no idea if that means that they would go after Aster too but I don't think that they would. But you see," Jack swong his legs back to the ground, his upper half sitting up straight as he threw his hands in the air, "if I could tell Aster any of this stuff than it would be so much better. Or if I could tell him about what I am than he would be allowed to join along with Fury's group! Hell! Fury looks like he's interested in taking him as a mate for gods sake!"

He was getting worked up, he knew he was, but he was at his limit. He didn't know what to do or what would be the right choice to make.

"But if I tell Aster that, if I show him what I actually am, if he remembers any of the stuff that happened before, he's going to hate me. I'll be stuck living in a pack without my brother and Aster will hate me for the rest of his life."

"Jack."

He didn't even realize that he'd been crying, or that he'd been looking down at his hands that were balled up in the fabric of his jeans until he could feel warm salty tears splashing on the backs of his white knuckled fists.

Trying pathetically to collect himself he brought one of his hands up to rub at his eyes, the warmth from North's large hand resting on his shoulder helping a lot for him to calm down.

"Jack, Aster would not hate you." North said, sitting on the arm of the chair the boy had chosen. "You were young. He would understand."

"But if he finds out than that means that everything that he's been saying about magic for his whole life is all true!" Jack blurted out. "He's been saying it for as long as I can remember! What's he going to say when I tell him that my parents got his killed in a cross fire against another group since our kind can't get along?"

"You won't know till you ask, no?" North said, running his hand up and down the boy's back soothingly.

He supposed he had a point, but Jack had been raised to always be ready for the worst. He could already see it now. Aster turning his back on him, on walking away, of telling him just how much he hated him.

"Do you need memories?"

Jack bit down on his lip at North's words. That is what he'd come here for. He wanted to have them because Aster really did deserve to have a choice in the matter if it was going to affect both of them. But...

Letting out a long sigh Jack turned his head to look up at the larger man he'd come to see as an uncle.

"Is it alright if I give them to him though? Aster's...well he's not happy that his parents are dead, but he has no idea that he was right there when it happened. I... is that something you'd really think he'd want to remember?"

North said nothing, standing back to his full height as he stroked at his long beard. His eyes were narrowed in thought, the fire lighting up his face in the dark room while Jack's stomach twisted in anticipation.

He had no idea just what North was going to say, but if he could just give Jack an answer than it would be so much easier than having to make the choice for himself. Then again Aster was his brother, and this was his choice, or really theirs, maybe dragging North into was a bad idea. He was putting too much pressure on the man. It wasn't really fair.

"I've only got a few days left to make the choice." He muttered out loud, his gaze dropping from North's face to the thick rug underneath his feet. "I...I don't want to do something that could hurt Aster."

"Talk to him." North said, earning a scoff for his words.

"Ya, that's not really going to work. How can I explain this to him without telling him everything?"

"Give him choice." North continued, the sounds of his surprisingly light footfalls getting further and further away from Jack as he spoke. "Tell him what he needs to know, what he might remember if he chooses, and what's going on."

Jack didn't realize that North had come back to his side until the man was kneeling down beside him, a long case that was flat on one side in his hand.

"Is a hard choice to make, I wish you luck."

(***)

Aster was reading. Or at least he was trying to. The book was open on his lap, he was sitting in his favorite chair, and he was wearing his reading glasses, and yet...

He couldn't get his mind off of Jack. Off of what had been going on for the last few days. About how odd Fury was acting. About the improved visit from Hiccup. About Astrid nearly knocking their door down. About how Jack looked like he was strung out and about two seconds away from bawling out his eyes or jumping through a window.

He had no idea just what was going on, but whatever it was, it obviously had something to do with Fury and it was stressing Jack out. If this was going to keep on going than he was going to have to have a talk with the store owner next door. If Fury was doing something to freak Jack out this much it was going to have to stop. Regardless of the fact that he liked the guy, he would dump him so fast if he found out that he was somehow harassing his little brother.

Still, even though this wasn't the first time crossing his mind it just didn't sound like something that Fury would do. It didn't make any sense. Sure, while Fury didn't seem to appreciate Jack's fondness for his little brother it was more harmless protection than outright hate. What on earth could have happened between them that would have made it this intense?

Taking off his glasses, Aster rubbed at his eyes with a long sigh.

He had so many questions, and he didn't know if he would ever get answers.

"Aster?"

He jumped, not having heard his brother come in at all. His head snapped up, staring wide eyed at the one who was standing in the doorway.

While Jack wasn't a very short fourteen year old by any means, he seemed tiny standing there, his shoulders hunched up to his ears and his hands shoved deeply into the pocket of his hood. His bright blue eyes were wide, his mouth pinched shut as the two stared at each other from across the room.

There was something very wrong about this.

Getting to his feet Aster quickly made his way over to his little brother, his worry mounting when he noticed the slight tremor in his body. Jack had never had a problem with the cold, there was no way that he was shaking from the weather outside.

"Jack? What's wrong mate?"

When he went to place a hand on his shoulder Jack took a step back, keeping out of his reach as his gaze fell to the ground.

"Aster, I... I have to talk to you about something." He mumbled, his voice low, as if speaking any louder would break the very walls around them. "But, can you promise me that you won't hate me?"

Hate him? Jack was his little brother. He was all he had. There was no way that Aster could ever hate him.

Giving a shake of his head at the strange words Aster reached out and caught his brother by the arm, keeping him from pulling away.

"You can talk to me. Don't worry."

Jack's lips pressed together, his chin trembling for a second before he took in a deep breath to steel himself for whatever it was that he was going to say next.

"How much do you remember about your parents?"

The question threw Aster for a bit of a loop. He hadn't talked about his parents in years. Whenever he tried to think back to them he couldn't remember much. He could barely remember their faces or his life when he'd been with them. It was strange but it was the truth. It felt as if someone had taken his memory of them and blurred it passed recognition.

But Jack was looking up at him with such a frail look he didn't know what to say.

"Uh...not much I guess." He admitted, "Why?"

He watched as Jack bit down on the corner of his bottom lip, his eyes darting to the side for a moment before he pulled something out of his pocket.

"This, this has your memories in it." He said, pressing the long object in Aster's hand.

He was honestly surprised at the weight of the item. He'd never seen anything like it before. It was gold, with twists and elegant patterns carved all the way around it. It was shaped like a half moon with an abstract picture of what appeared to be his face surrounded by an array of blue, green and pick patterns.

Eyeing the item questionably he turned his gaze back up to Jack, arching a brow as he slowly lowered the item down to his side.

"It... has my memories in it?" Aster repeated, letting go of his brother as he gave a long sigh. "Is this why you've been acting so weird? Did Fury give this to you? Look Jack, that kind of stuff isn't..."

"Fury didn't give that to me!" Jack snapped. "And this magic stuff that you hate? It is real!" Jack pressed, his voice shaking as he spoke. "Aster listen..."

"Jack please." His voice was stern, a headache pressing to the sides of his skull as he rubbed at his eyelids. "If this is what you've been worried about..."

"Aster listen..."

"Jack, you can't put people's memories into... whatever this thing is. I don't care what Fury said. It's not possible."

"It is! And it wasn't Fury! It was North!" Jack snapped, yanking the item out of Aster's hand as he scowled up at his brother. "I'm not joking around here Aster. I-ugh!" Throwing his hands into the air Jack stomped away.

When he ripped open their front door and marched out of their apartment Aster went after him. He had no idea just what Jack thought he was up to, but there was no way that he was about to let his brother just walk out. There could have been something wrong with him. What if Jack was having a mental break down or was having some sort of panic attack? Maybe he had no idea what he was doing. And had he just left the house without putting on shoes? His feet were going to freeze!

"Jack! Come back!" By the time he made it to the door he could already see the elevator on the other end of the hall sliding closed.

Cursing lowly under his breath he dashed over to the stairwell, ripping the door open and flying down them two steps at a time. Just as he hit the landing he could see the boy darting out of the elevator, heading towards the front door. Running after his brother Aster regretted not bringing a jacket with him when the cold night air bit at his arms.

"Jack!"

Sprinting after his brother now he could barely keep up with his longs strides as Jack dashed down the street.

"Jack wait! I'm sorry okay!" Aster yelled after him, trying to reach out for him only to grasp at air.

He nearly tripped over his own feet when Jack took a sudden turn, zipping down an alley and into the woods that surrounded their town. Accidently shooting himself passed the mouth of the alleyway he had to quickly double back and continue chasing after his brother.

Just what on earth was Jack thinking? He wasn't wearing shoes and he was just going to run into the woods? God, Aster was going to have to carry him home. The boy's feet were going to be in so much pain. What on earth was Jack thinking? Had Aster really hurt his feelings that badly?

"Jack!"

It was hard to see in the darkness of the woods, but Aster had always had really good hearing and could hear which way the boy was heading. The brightness of the full moon helped as well, bathing the gaps in between the trees with white light that appeared to make Jack glow as he darted around the trees and jumped over logs with ease.

"Jack where are you going? You're going to get hurt! Come back!"

His lungs were staring to burn, the cold air biting into them like liquid fire as he continued to run. Just when he was starting to wonder if Jack was ever going to stop the boy came to a sudden halt. He'd chosen a clearing, turning back to face Aster as the older male jogged to a stop, both of them taking a moment to catch their breath.

"What on earth...do you think...you're doing?" Aster question between gasps for air, his eyes narrowing slightly at his brother. "You can get sick out here Jack." He continued once he'd managed to catch his breath a little more. "Come on. I'll give you a piggyback back home."

"No." Jack snapped, taking a step back as he gave a sharp shake of his head. "Not until I show you something."

Unable to help but give a roll of his eyes Aster crossed his arms over his chest.

"Alright Jack." He muttered, leaning back against a tree as he turned his full attention to his brother. "If it means that much to you than preform whatever little magic seance that you need to."

Jack gave his own hard eye roll, turning his head up to the sky with a growl before he dropped his gaze to his older brother.

"Just, promise me you won't run away. I won't hurt you."

Okay. That wasn't a good thing to hear. Just what on earth was his brother talking about? Did Fury put him up to something? Dear god if the guy gave Jack drugs and told him they were some type of magic dust or something so help him he was going to kick Fury's ass.

As Aster continued to watch his brother however he couldn't help but wonder if he was the one who had somehow been slipped something.

Right before his very eyes, Jack changed. His skin turned a light shade of gray, growing darker and darker as his body seemed to stretch out, growing scales while horns protruded from his hair. Sharp claws grew from his fingertips while wings grew out of his arms, leathery looking skin stretching out between the bones as his whole form grew in size. His legs grew thicker, claws lacing the tips while a strong looking tail whipped out from behind him. Blue patterns covered his skin, coming from his eyes and over his forehead, down his sides and tail as the blue of his eyes filled up the whites.

No longer was his smiling little brother standing before him, but a large, sharp toothed beast.

Aster could feel his mouth drop open as his brain just about shut down.

His little brother was a dragon.


	16. Chapter 16

Do You Believe In Magic

Chapter 16

"-ster! Oh shit! Are you okay!?"

The voice seemed to dig into his ears, pulling him out of the darkness and back into the waking world. When he opened his eyes, it was to see Jack staring down at him, his whole face contorted into one of fear. Without thinking about it he jerked up, accidently smashing their foreheads together with a painful crack.

They both cursed, and Aster would have gotten Jack in trouble for the colorful words that passed by his lips but he figured that given the circumstances he'd let it slide just this once. As Jack backed away Aster sat up, both of them rubbing at their heads with a low hiss.

They took a moment of just getting over the pain before Aster turned to his brother. Jack was still grumbling lowly to himself, rubbing at the sore, red mark on his forehead looking like another normal teenager. Had that really happened then? Had his little brother really turned into a dragon? Maybe Aster had just fallen asleep while reading his book or something and made the whole thing up.

From the biting cold under his fingers and biting at his skin however he knew that it hadn't been. He was still outside. Still in that clearing. He'd chased Jack out here and he'd...

Jumping to his feet Aster took a few large steps away from the boy.

The action seemed to startle Jack, making his head snap up as his brows furrowed together, his lips pinched tightly while he stared up at Aster with his bright baby blues. But he wasn't just a boy. He was a...

"What the hell Jack?" His words came out sharp, his own gaze narrowing in on the boy while he wondered just what he was supposed to do next. "You're a, Jesus what the hell are you? Is this some kind of joke? How long has this been going on? That's not...this is not normal I mean...shit how do we fix this?"

At his words however, Jack let out a broken sound, thick, heavy tears pouring from his eyes at a rapid speed while his whole body shook with sobs. The sudden change caught Aster off guard, surprise taking a hold of him and pushing aside every other emotion as he looked down at the boy before him and his protective instincts kicked in. It sent a sharp pain straight to his heart to watch as Jack let out soul shattering cries of pure anguish.

What on earth was he doing? Jack was his little brother, regardless of the fact that he was also some type of dragon thing. He didn't need to be fixed. There wasn't anything wrong with him. He was Aster's family and seeing him this upset was killing him.

Without wasting another second Aster moved back towards him in a few long strides. Crouching down in front of the boy he threw his arms around his thin body and pulled him in as close as he could. He could feel just how cold Jack was as he clung back to Aster, his hands gripping him so tightly that the older male was shocked that he didn't crush him. Shame burned deeply inside Aster's chest as he gently cooed at the boy, softly rocking him back and forth while gently running his fingers through his hair. Who knew just how long Jack had been keeping this a secret. How long he'd wanted to tell Aster about it. How hurt he must have been when Aster shut him down again and again about the idea of magic. How alone he must have felt all these years. How scared he must have been about rejection and hatred.

What an idiot Aster had been.

"Jack I'm sorry." He mumbled lowly, glad to hear that the boy's sobs were lessening some as he continued. "I...don't know what's going on." He admitted, pulling away enough to be able to look into his brothers red rimmed eyes as he held his face in his hands. "I'm sorry that I... over reacted, but no matter what I still love you okay?"

"Okay." Jack's voice came out with a waver, his hands coming up to rub at his cheeks and eyes as Aster wrapped him up in his arms again, resting his chin on top of the boy's head while Jack continued to collect himself.

"You fainted at the sight of me." Jack muttered, the hurt in his voice shining clearly through as Aster let out a small scoff.

"Well it's not every day that you watch someone you love turn into a fire breathing dragon." He muttered, pulling a small laugh from the boy as Jack nestled into him.

He mumbled something against Aster's chest, and even with his good hearing the older male still had a problem making out what it was. "Pardon?"

"Lighting." Jack said a little louder, tilting his head back to stare up at his brother. "I don't have fire. I have lighting."

Aster just blinked down at him for a moment, his brain taking its own sweet time processing the information.

Sure. Why not? Dragons breathing fire was so farfetched anyways so of course lighting was the way to go.

"Great." Was all Aster could think of to say as Jack snickered up at him.

When the boy started to pull back Aster let him, watching carefully as the boy sat back on the cold ground and lightly rubbed at his arms.

He didn't know what to say, or even where to start. This was... a lot to take in.

A sudden thought came to his mind however and it made his jump, reaching out to grab a hold of his startled brother as his eyes suddenly went sharp.

"Fury isn't hunting you, is he?" He growled, his words borderline manic as Jack stared up at him like a deer caught in the headlights. "He's not some kind of, of dragon hunter, right? He's not hunting you down or anything like that?"

"Um, no?" Jack's words weren't to reassuring, coming out more as a question than anything. But he had said no, and he would never be able to get around to answering anything if Aster didn't back off and allow him some room to breathe.

With a slight huff Aster let him go, leaning back and taking his own seat as a small amount of relife filled him.

Good. He still might be able to patch things up with Fury than.

"But um, he is... well, let's just say that if I don't make the right choice in a few days, his group will come after me."

Or not...

"Come after you?" Aster repeated, his mind still spinning from everything that was happening.

It was a lot to find out that his little brother was apparently magic, or a dragon, or whatever. Where those things even one in the same? Was he thinking to deeply about this? Well if dragon people existed and Aster's memories could be stored in a tube than he supposed that magic must have been a really thing. Anyways... It was another thing to find out that the guy he was crushing on might have something to do with coming after his brother. Just what on earth was going on here and how did he get dragged into it?

Taking in a deep breath Aster brought his hands up to his face, pressing his fingers against his eyes as he tried to think.

"Okay...can we start at the beginning?" He wondered, eyeing the boy when Jack shivered slightly and wrapped his arms around himself tightly. "At home." He added, getting to his feet and offering a hand out to the boy.

Jack gratefully took it, hopping to his feet and walking next to his brother as they headed towards home.

They walked in silence for a bit, Aster realizing just how far out they had come as he started to recognize some of the places around him, even in the darkness of the woods.

"I'm, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you this sooner Aster." Jack said softly from his side, Aster looking at his from the corner of his eye as they continued. "I really wanted to but you just...I thought that you would hate me if I did. I still think you might."

"Jack," reaching out for the boy he placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him to a stop and keeping him in place as he let out a long sigh of his own. "listen snowflake. This is, well it's a lot for me alright? I honestly think the only way I'm comprehending it right now is the fact that you just look like you at this moment. I don't think that I'm ready to see...dragon you, again just yet but at least now I know it's there. Honestly, we're, I'm going to have to work on this, but it doesn't mean I'm going to love you any less. You're my little brother, I'd never turn my back on you okay?"

Jack looked like he was about to cry again, but not from rejection or fear. His eyes were bright and he had the biggest smile on his face. Aster had no time to ready himself when the boy suddenly launched himself at him, leaving the older male with an arm full of hyper, happy, teen.

"Whao Jack!"

He just managed to get his footing before they fell over, Jack laughing as he rubbed his head against Aster's cheek for a moment before he pulled back. The happiness he'd displayed was short lived, and Aster found a frown coming to his face when the white haired teen placed his hand in his pocket and pulled out the same item from before.

"You might not think so after you get these back." Jack mumbled, his eyes unable to meet the others as they turned to the ground.

Aster stared at the small item in the pale hands, seeing the way that Jack trembled while he tried to keep his face carefully blank. He had no idea just what Jack could have possible done back than in order to change his mind about how he felt about the boy now. When Jack had been brought into his life he'd only been about four. When his parents had died he'd only been about nine or so. What on earth could he have been responsible for? He wasn't even old enough to figure out how to tie his own laces.

He reached out, placing his hand over top of Jack's and pushing the item down. Jack seemed surprised by his choice, his head snapping back up to look at Aster while the taller of the two smiled down at him.

"I don't care." Aster said, his words honest as he gave a shake of his head. "Whatever it is you think you did, it doesn't matter. I'm happy the way things are now. If I've managed to live life this long without knowing I don't see what the point is of knowing it now."

"But," Jack's eyes shot down to the item in his hand, thrusting it towards Aster again as he locked their gazes together, "this, this will let you know what happened to your parents, it will let you know what really..."

"I don't care." Aster repeated, refusing the item for the countless time that night. "Their dead now, they were good parents, that's all I need to know."

"But I...how are you so calm about this?" Jack muttered, his arms falling limply to his side as Aster chuckled.

"Because the only other thing that I can think about doing is screaming, running, or crying, but none of those are very productive and wouldn't answer any of my questions." Aster said. "I don't need those memories to be happy Jack. I already am."

The boy just stared up at him, his white hair glowing in the moonlight and lighting up his pale face. He just stood there, staring into Aster's eyes as if he could try and see into the others soul. He must have found whatever it was that he was looking for however as he returned the item to his pocket and gave a small nod of his head.

"Okay."

With a smile of his own Aster threw his arm around his brother's shoulders and pulled them towards their home once more.

"Although don't get me wrong." Aster continued, his smile almost plastered over his face as he tightened his hold on the boy. "I have no idea what's going on and I think I might pass out again after the adrenalin wears off, but I mean, it's pretty cool, what you are, but um, what are you?"

He could feel Jack taking in a deep breath and he couldn't help but wondered just how much migraine medication he was going to need before this all would really sink in. He had a feeling he was only so calm because Jack had broken down and seeing his brother that way had forced him to push everything else to the sidelines. Now that Jack seemed okay he was pretty sure he might just slip into shock at some point.

"Well, I'm a shifter." Jack said, his voice low as if he wasn't sure that he really wanted to speak.

"Okay... did someone bite you or..."

"No." Jack's laughter made Aster scowl as he quickly slid his arm from the boy's shoulders to his neck, rubbing the knuckles of his free hand against his skull in punishment. "Ow! Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!"

"Ya, ya, make fun of me why don't cha." Aster grumbled, Jack's laughter dying off as the alley they'd run down came into view.

"No, that's a werewolf you're talking about. Shifter's like me are born."

"...Are werewolves real?"

Actually, now that he was thinking about it...just how much of this stuff was going to end up being really? Dear lord, now he was glad that he'd never done that Bloody Mary thing. He didn't think he'd be able to stand a ghost haunting him for mutter a few words over and over. Crap! Was the boogeyman really? All those times that he'd told Jack he would be stolen from his bed by the King of Nightmares had he traumatized the boy into thinking the real deal was going to get him?

"Aster." Jack groaned, pulling away from his brother as he leaped ahead of him a few feet, spinning around and turning to face him as he continued walking backwards. "Focus."

"Sorry."

He thought he had been focusing...

"There's lots of different types of Shifters out there, or at least dragons. I haven't heard of any other type of Shifter being here. I honestly don't know much though. I mean the parents are supposed to be the ones who teach you about all of this stuff and mine..."

Before the boy could finish Aster grabbed a hold of his brother's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as he walked them down towards their street.

"So, you can't give me much information." Aster said as the boy nodded.

"North could give us some information, but he doesn't know too much either. We're not allowed to share to much with ones who aren't Shifters."

Oh ya, that reminded Aster...

"You said that North put my memories in... that thing. How did he do that?"

"North's a witch." Jack said matter of factly, as if it was a normal thing for someone that you knew to be one.

But sure, why couldn't North be a witch? His brother was a dragon and his guardian was a witch, normal everyday things.

"I'm going to have to sit down and have a long talk with both of you." Aster grumbled under his breath as they moved back towards their place.

Jack's shoulders hunched up to his ears, his chin dropping to his chest as he stared up at Aster through his bangs.

"You're mad?"

Letting out a scoff Aster ran his hands down his face before he brought them back up to his run through his hair.

"Mad? No. But you have both known about this stuff for years and left me out of the loop. God, I feel like an idiot." Aster grumbled lowly to himself as Jack gave a somewhat nervous laugh.

"Sorry Aster."

Continuing to grumble Aster once again wrapped his arm around Jack's neck, pulling him in close and giving him an even harder nuggie than before. It was strange to think that just under the boy's skin was a beast just waiting to come out. Just how did that work? How on earth did his skin stretch like that? Where did all of the bones come from? How did his teeth grow that long? How did he control lightning? Did it hurt? When his bones grew and his skin change to scales did he feel it? Could he control how fast he changed? Could he fly with those wings or were they just for show? How powerful was that tail?

Holy shit.

His little brother was a dragon.

"Aster? Are you o..."


	17. Chapter 17

Do You Believe In Magic

Chapter 17

There was something cold and wet pressing at his forehead. That was the first thing that Aster picked up on as his eyes squinted open.

He was greeted with the sight of North, an unnatural worried look sitting in his strong gaze as he stared down at the boy. Neither of them said anything, and Aster took the time to look around and see just where he was. He could feel himself relaxing slightly as his mind quickly recognized the furniture and decor of the room. Jack must have somehow got him back home and then called North. Actually, now that he was thinking of his little brother, where was he?

"Where's Jack?" He muttered, his voice coming out a little raspy as he went to sit up.

"Take it easy Aster." North said, placing a large hand against his chest and pushing him back down. "Jack will be back."

"I'm in the kitchen Bunny!"

Hearing Jack's voiced helped him to relaxe, allowing him to sink back into the couch that he was laying on as he closed his eyes for a moment.

Okay, Jack was alright and North was here. He would be able to get a little more answers and he was home. He couldn't even begin to describe just how happy he was to wake up at home rather than outside or in the woods. Just the setting alone was doing wonders to help him remain some form of normalcy while he brought his hand up to rub at his forehead.

North stayed silent the whole time, allowing Aster to adjust to all of the thoughts that were circling around his mind.

"So," Aster muttered, shifting on the couch until he was sitting up, "you're a witch?"

While North seemed shocked by his words, the expression didn't stay there for long. Slowly he turned his head towards the direction of their kitchen, his gaze narrowing for a moment before he turned back to the one in front of him.

"Jack told you yes?" He sighed with a slight shake of his head.

As he muttered something lowly in his native tonged, Jack came out of the kitchen, holding a tray of three steaming drinks and a plate of cookies that Aster had made earlier.

"Thought this might help." The boy said, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips as he set it down on the coffee table.

Aster appreciated his attempt at trying to normalize the situation. Reaching out for a mug he didn't say anything, wondering what there even was to say to the ones before him or if he should wait for them to talk first. Just what did him knowing this stuff mean? What did it change? Did it even really have to change anything at all or did that just mean that there would be less secrets and lies between them all now? Actually, now that he was really thinking about it, just what had changed in the first place that made Jack finally come forward with what he was?

"Alright." He mumbled, taking a long sip of his drink, wincing at the burn before he placed it back down on the table. "First things first. Jack did you really die your hair or is that because of this..." Unknowing what to even really call it he instead gestured his hand up and down the boy while Jack arched a brow at him, "thing?"

"Um," Jack took a moment, his brows furrowing as he munched away on his own cookie, "ya no, the hairs a side effect of what I am. I just didn't...you know, needed to have some sort of excuse for it."

Nodding his head in understanding Aster felt as if he was ready to ask some of the bigger questions.

"Why now?"

North shifted his gaze over to the younger of the three as Jack's own gaze darted downwards.

"You did not tell him?" North muttered while Aster gave a roll of his eyes and went back to take another sip of his drink.

"Uh, well, I kinda did?" Jack said, his shoulders moving up to his ears as he gave a sheepish grin to their guardian.

"You had to tell me this now for some reason." Aster continued, knowing they were never going to get to it if he allowed them to keep dancing around his questions. "And you said it has something to do with Fury being after you, but that he's not a dragon hunter. So, what dose Fury want you to do that made you tell me?"

For once in his life, words seemed to escape the young male. His shoulders jerked up in a shrug, his mouth opening and closing without being able to make a single noise. North was the one who took pity on him, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze before he turned back to the ones who needed answers.

"Aster," At the sound of his name the boy tore his gaze away from his little brother and turned to the man he'd known closely for years, "this is all new to you yes? You should know, Shifters are...territorial." The man said slowly, clearly trying to think of a way to words his thoughts.

"Okay?" That didn't give him much to go on. Just how territorial were they talking about here? While this city wasn't large by any means, it wasn't one of the smallest out there, and Jack was only one person. How much territory did he need?

"This, Fury fellow." North continued, "is part of pack of Shifters called Hooligans."

Aster couldn't help the scoff that passed his lips at the sound of the name. At the cross look that came over both of Jack's and North's faces he tried to cover it up with another sip of his tea. Honestly though could they blame him? He'd always thought that Fury's group had a weird thing for names, it made their pack name seem to suit them just that much more.

Wait... a pack of Shifters...

Fury and his whole group were...

"The Hooligan pack is no laughing matter Aster." North said, his voice strangely stern.

"They've been known to wipe out entire packs twice the size of their own within only a few hours." Jack supplied. "We're very territorial," Jack repeated, "and when one group moves into another groups territory either they chase them out, or they kill them all."

Aster didn't miss the slight tremor in Jack's hands, or the way that he tried to hide it by gripping at the knees of his jeans or tightened the hold on the cookie in his hand. His little brother was terrified, and rightfully so. Aster himself had seen Fury's group in training, they had been terrifying, and that was only the kids. He didn't even want to think about just what the older members could do. He'd seen the scars himself, on both Hookfang and Fury. He'd seen just how much damage they could take and still keep going. Some of those wounds had looked fatal, and the fact that they were still standing and were still here was a chilling thought.

He'd thought that maybe Jack could have a fighting chance with him being a Shifter, but if Fury's whole group was that way to than his little brother was screwed.

Tapping his finger against his mug he wasn't sure what to say. How on earth was he supposed to help Jack with this one? How on earth could he keep him safe from a group of blood thirsty dragon shifters?

"Fury gave you a time limit?" Aster eventually said, his eyes carefully taking in the way that Jack froze before he slowly nodded his head. "He gave you a choice, what was it?"

Even as Jack took in a deep breath, Aster could see the panic starting to settle in behind his eyes. This must have been a lot for Jack to talk about. As time dragged on his choice to tell Aster must have been cementing the idea that his days were numbered, and that the countdown was only getting that much closer to the due date.

"He said that since I'm a juvenile, I could either join him, or not."

Aster wasn't sure that he liked what the 'or not' part implied.

"And if you don't join him?" He pressed.

The trembling in Jack's hands was more obvious now, and for a single moment, his bottom lip quivered.

"He said that he couldn't guarantee what might happen to me."

"That son of a..." Aster cut himself off before he could finish, his gaze narrowing at the far-off wall while he tried to think.

Really Jack's choice was simple, or at least it sounded that way, but just what else was there to it if it was taking Jack this long to decide what to do?

"If you were to join them," Jack's head snapped up at his words, his eyes blown wide open as if he couldn't believe what Aster had said, "than what would that mean?"

"I...I don't..." Jack was stumbling, tripping over his words as his brows furrow together while he gave a small shake of his head.

North took over, stepping in as he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder again before he spoke.

"Jack would be there's." He said, his words simple even if the very idea of it was not. "He would become new pack member, live with them, eat with them, fight with them, leave with them."

"They'd take you away."

It wasn't a question, but a final nail in the coffin as a few stray tears slipped from Jack's eyes. The teen tried to wipe them away quickly, giving a nod of his head at his brother's words while he took in a stuttering breath.

"I don't-I don't want to leave you Aster." The boy sniffled, unable to stop the tears as they rolled down his cheeks.

Getting up from his spot Aster moved himself to sit next to his brother on the coffee table, wasting no time he wrapped him up in his arms again. Jack had already lost the people that he loved the most, he didn't need to lose another family member for something as cave man as this.

"You won't Jack." He cooed gently, "We'll think of something."

"I hope so." North said with a long sigh. "Time will be up soon." He continued, drawing both of the boy's attention towards him. "We must think of something to stop Fury yes?"

"I don't think Fury's the problem." Jack said, wiping away the stay tears with his hands as he pulled away from his brother. "Fury doesn't seem like he wants to hurt me." Jack said, his bright blue orbs shifting over to Aster as he gave him a small smile. "I think that's it's mostly because he doesn't want to piss you off."

Aster scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared at the boy. "Oh I'm plenty of pissed at him as it is. If he did anything to hurt you I would lose it on him. Shifter or not he'd be going down."

Jack gave a soft chuckle at his words, resting his head against his brother's shoulder as he let out a long sigh.

"I don't know what to do." He admitted.

For that, Aster had no input. This was all new to him too. He wasn't sure what to do either. There was no way in hell that he wanted Jack to be taken from him, but he had no interest in handing the boy a death sentence either. Although he'd told Jack that they would think of something he was a little stump on any ideas that came into his mind. He had no idea how Shifters worked or what their rules were. And North and Jack only had a limited amount of knowledge on the subject.

The only one who was going to be able to provide him answers would be Fury.

As the thought came to Aster he could feel himself tense up. He hadn't seen Fury in almost a week. Hadn't seen him since he gave his little brother this ultimatum. Green orbs narrowed as he thought about the guy. Fury might have been everything that he was looking for, but he was also the one who had the answers that Aster needed and was the one who had been stressing his brother out for the whole week.

Maybe it was time that they saw each other again and had a little talk.

There would be no way that either Jack or North would allow him to do this though. They knew way more about this world than Aster did and they would see it as him walking into a death sentence. He was going to have to do this quickly, without either of them knowing about it.

He could head out tonight. After he put Jack to bed.

"Don't worry about it you two." Aster said as he got up, snatching up their empty cups as he made his way over to the kitchen. "I'll think of something."


	18. Chapter 18

Do You Believe In Magic

Chapter 18

By the time they were done talking, Jack dropped like a rock.

Aster honestly thought that it would take longer for him for fall asleep than that but the boy's head had barely grazed the pillow before he was dead to the world. For a few minutes Aster had just stood there, staring down at his little brother with a soft smile on his face. He was still having a hard time believing that any of this could be real, that his little brother could be part of some type of Shifter group, but he supposed that it didn't really change who his little brother was.

Jack was still going to be Jack in the morning, and Aster was still going to be making him lunches and cookies and making sure that he was okay.

If he really wanted to make sure that no harm was going to come to his brother however than he was going to have to talk to someone first.

As he walked down the dark streets, he shoved his hands deeply into the pockets of his hood to fight against the chill. He knew where he was heading, and at the moment he couldn't have been happier with the fact that Fury had taken him over to his house already. Aster had a pretty good memory, and remembering something like Fury's house, where it was, and how it was layout was all too easy.

Now all he needed to do was think about how he was going to get in and out without being killed, and on how pissed they were all going to be by the fact that he was showing up at two o'clock in the morning. Not that he didn't think they didn't deserved it. They'd been stressing Jack out enough he was fine with annoying the hell out of them late at night, but if what Jack and North were saying was true, then he wasn't quite sure how he was really going to survive the whole exchange.

If they were right about Fury and his group being a pack of blood thirsty Shifters with a very territorial mind setting, his whole plan was really a suicide mission. Not only was he going to be walking in to their home, or their 'territory' he supposed, but he was also going to be calling out Fury, the only guy Aster could see being the leader of their little group.

Man, it was strange to think that he'd wanted to actually have something with Fury, and aggravating to know that he still kind of did. It was just too bad that they had to be on opposite sides of this whole thing. But he was threatening his brother, and regardless of who he was or how Aster felt about him, there was no way he was going to let that slide.

Unable to stop himself he gave a hard eye roll to no one in particular as he continued walking down the empty streets. It must have just been one of those, 'go figure' moments in life. Why did it seem to be that his life in particular was just chalk full of them?

He wasn't going to have too much longer to think about it, Fury's house was already in plain sight.

His stomach tightened, his nerves starting up as the idea of just what he was about to do dawned on him.

Fury would probably kill him.

This was such a bad idea, but he was going to go through with it anyways.

Taking in a deep breath he took a moment to steel his nerves. Opening his eyes, he continued on his way to the front of the house. Once he was at the door he gave it a quick series of knocks.

Unsurprisingly nothing happened.

With a long sigh he gave it another knock. And another.

When nothing continued to happen, Aster took a few steps back. He could remember just where Fury's room was. He knew where he'd be able to find his window.

Moving around the side of the house until he was at the back, Aster kept his eyes up, slightly surprised to see that the light in Fury's room was still on.

Well, he would say that was rude of him to ignore the knocks at his door if it wasn't so late at night. That and there could have been the slightest chance that they actually hadn't heard him. He supposed just because they were shifter that didn't necessarily mean that they had special abilities when they were in human form. Actually, now that he was thinking about it why hadn't he ask Jack about that? Well, now that he was here he was just going to have to add it to the list of questions to ask Fury.

Eyeing the structure over carefully he took a few more steps back as he planned out a route that would take him just where he needed to go. Getting a running start, he launched himself at the building, jumping up and grabbing a hold of a ledge that poked out just a bit. Pulling himself up he reached out with his other hand to wrap his fingers around a dark window, being careful not to knock against it and wake whoever was sleeping inside as he continued on his way.

When he finally got to Fury's room he took a moment to catch his breath, peering into the light to see just what it was that the other was doing so late at night. Nosy it might have been, but he found himself shocked to see that Fury was passed out at his desk. A pen was still clutched in his fingers, his body hunched over his desk and his head pillowed by his other arm. His face was turned towards Aster, and he found himself even more surprised to see a pair of glasses on the others face. He'd never seen Fury with glasses before, he didn't even know that he needed them.

A wave of fondness washed over him for a moment, and he couldn't stop a soft smile from tugging at the corner of his lips as he let out a quiet chuckle. This was a rather different Fury than he was used to seeing. He was so off guard, so at peace. He must have felt pretty safe here in order to just pass out like that, and he must have been exhausted to have just passed out at his desk rather than his bed which was only a few feet away.

Aster almost felt bad about the fact the he was going to be sneaking in to interrogate the other. He almost felt bad that his presence was going to startle Fury, and make him feel a little on edge in his own home.

But at the thought of how on edge Jack was the last few days, the thought of how stressed and freaked out his brother had been for years and how much worse it had no doubt become ever since Fury had dropped that choice on him, any sympathy he might have been harboring for the guy instantly faded.

Taking a look at the window, he could help but let out a sigh of relief at the fact that it was an old fashion one, and that it wasn't locked. He'd have been in a bit of trouble if this house had been any older, or if they had remodeled it after moving in and changed some of the accents to be more modern. But it was just a simple slide window, and Aster all to easily slid it up and let himself in.

Standing inside the room he shook the chill from his clothes. It was so much warmer in the room, and he quickly spun around to quietly slid the window shut behind him. He didn't want the cold waking up Fury before he was ready to talk to him. Instead he took his time in approaching the sleeping male, his eyes lazily taking in the room as he wondered just what questions he should ask first and just what his game plan was.

As Fury stirred in his seat however Aster closed the gap between them in a few long strides. Not taking the chance to see if it could be used as a weapon or not he snatched the pen out of Fury's lose grasp, the boy's fingers twitching in response as he shifted some more, muttering lowly under his breath.

Deciding to get it over with he placed a hand on the dark haired male's shoulder, giving him a shake as Fury let out a long groan in return.

"Five more minutes Hic." He muttered, weakly batting Aster's hand away in his sleep fogged state.

Aw. That was actually kind of cute.

"Not your brother Fury." Aster said, his voice making the other jerk as he quickly drew his hand back to his side.

Fury let out a hiss, shooting up so fast that his chair smashed back against the floor as he turned on Aster. His face was set in a snarl for all of a few seconds before his movements caught up with him and he wobbled on his feet. Aster caught him easily enough, allowing him to cling to his sweater as the lightheadedness washed over him for a long moment. It was only when bright green eyes managed to focus that Aster slowly pulled back, his arms still outstretched just in case Fury was about to fall over again.

"You all good?" He questioned, arching a brow as Fury's own face twisted into one of confusion.

"Aster? What the hell. You're not supposed to be here." Fury mumbled, rubbing at his eyes with the palms of his hands before he gave a rough shake of his head. "You have to go. What time is it? How did you get in here?"

As he continued in his sleep confused state, Aster crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his weight over to one foot. He couldn't help but find it amusing to watch as the normally well put together man stumbled over his own two feet and continued to speak in incoherent mutterings while he rubbed his hands over his face to try and keep himself awake. He almost wished he had a camera to record everything so he could watch it later and coo over the adorableness that was the other before he snapped himself back into it.

"I want you to back off of Jack."

At his words Fury seemed to sober up a little bit, his movements slowly coming to a stop as he turned to face the other, green orbs narrowing at him as the fog behind them lessened.

When nothing but silence continued to fill up the room Aster decided to press on.

"I know about this...Shifter thing, but regardless of what you guys are normally use to, I want you to leave my brother alone."

For a long moment Fury didn't say anything. His gaze went wide, before he gave out another hiss and turned his head away. As his hand came up to rubbed at his eyes his other arm crossed over his chest.

"Jack told you about...? Ugh, he's not..." Fury's words died off into a growl, his hands coming up to ruffle his hair before he pushed his bangs away from his face and let out a huff. His lips pinched together and his brows narrowed over nearly cat slit eyes that glared at nothing in particular.

Aster gave him a moment to get his thoughts together before he decided to continue with what he was here for.

"I know that your part of some Hooligan pack or something, and that Shifters are apparently known for being very territorial of their areas, but I will not let you kill my little brother. Jack's all I have, and if you want to get to him, then you're going to have to go through me."

As Aster spoke, Fury slowly turned his attention back to him, the look over his face not what the other had been expecting to see. Fury didn't look angry, or ready to rip out Aster's throat at any given moment. Instead he looked...kind of confused. As if what Aster was saying didn't make any sense to him at all.

"I...wait I'm sorry." Fury muttered, taking a step towards Aster as he crossed his arms over his chest again. "Jack told you that he's...?"

"A Shifter." Aster put in, filling the words in for him when Fury trailed off.

"Right." Fury said slowly, his brows still furrowed as he gave a slight tilt of his head. "And you know that me and my group are..."

"A pack of Shifters known as the Hooligans. Yes."

"Okay." Fury muttered, giving a small shrug of his shoulders as he spoke. "So, what's the problem?"

"What's the..? Are you kidding me."

Was Fury being serious right now? What did he mean 'what's the problem?' He was going to kill Jack. Aster would say that, that would be a pretty big problem to anybody. Were these guys just not use to thinking of people outside of their pack? How could he not see just what was going on?

"No." Fury said, the confusion leaking into his voice as he gave a shake of his head. "If you know that we're all Shifters, then what's the problem?" Fury asked again. "With you knowing, both you and Jack can join us. Isn't that...I know you don't like magic and everything but you could get use to us. I mean we make good roommates and everything and..."

"Wait, wait." Aster interrupted, waving his hands out in front of him as his own mind tried to figure out just what was going on. "What is...I'm sorry, you told Jack that he could either join you without me, or that you were going to kill him."

"Alright, well it sounds really bad when you put it that way." Fury said, taking a few steps back so that he could take a seat on the edge of his bed. "But you have to understand that Jack's going to be an Alpha. Once he reaches his mature stage and fills in his rank he'll go looking for a mate, and I think we both know who he's got his eyes on for that role." Fury said, arching his brow slightly as Aster thought of the little auburn haired boy that Jack had been head over heels for since he'd moved into town. "That will make him a threat to my group, and we've dealt with loner Alphas before. It didn't end well." Fury sighed, his hands twitching against the bed for a moment as he thought. "I lost my tailfin, and Hiccup lost his leg. That's not a mistake that I'm willing to make twice."

Aster couldn't blame the other for the edge of malic in his voice as his own eyes widened at the news. He had no idea that Hiccup was missing his leg. The boy always seemed to walk just fine, but Aster had never seen him in shorts before, he couldn't help but know if Jack knew about this. Not that it would change his bother's mind about the boy he just couldn't help but wonder if he knew. He wasn't really sure just what Fury meant by his tailfin, but he could assume that losing any part of the body, shifted form or not, wouldn't be a fun experience.

"The only reason he was going to have to join without you was because he didn't want to tell you. We can't have you living with us if you don't know what we are, it just makes things to...difficult." Fury said, pushing himself off of his bed and walking up to Aster once more. "But if you know than I have no problem with you being here."

This was not...this whole conversation wasn't going like he thought it would. He'd thought that he was ready for just about anything that Fury would be able to throw at him... this was not one of those things.

"You didn't..I don't think that Jack knows about this."

Fury tilted his head quickly to one side before he stopped his walk just a few feet away from Aster.

"I told him this." Fury said, "I told him that if you didn't know than you wouldn't be able to come with us."

"Did you tell him that you were fine with me tagging along if I knew?"

Fury was silent, doing nothing other than staring at Aster for a long time as he stood there blinking at him.

"No." He finally said, the word being dragged out as he looked at the wall over Aster's shoulder. "Hm. Right. His parents died when he was young right? They wouldn't have gone over any of this with him and I didn't think of mentioning it. Oops."

Oops? He'd been stressing Jack out for the past week pretty much and that was all he could say? God. He was going to keep his opinion of magic people whether they were real or not.

"I really want to hit you right now." Aster admitted, watching carefully as Fury's gaze snapped over to him once again. "But it wouldn't solve anything."

"Look, Aster..."

"Whether I knew or not, you were going to go after my brother."

"To protect mine." Fury interrupted, his gaze narrowing as he rolled his shoulders back.

"I can't just let Jack live with a bunch of strangers, dangerous ones at that." Aster put in, a snarl pulling at his own lips as he stared down at the shorter male. "We don't know you well enough yet to be a part of your family or pack or whatever it is you guys call this."

"If your choice isn't to be with us than..."

"Just listen." Aster said, holding up his hand to help silence the other. "Look Fury. I get it. I would do anything to protect Jack, and I understand you doing anything to protect your family." He said, feeling slightly better as Fury seemed to become less tense and more interest in what he had to say. "But we still don't know you guys, we're all pretty much strangers. So, here's my deal, me and Jack will become a part of your group. He'll learn about everything that he needs to know from you guys and the 'way of the Shifters' or whatever it is you can teach him, but we will continue to live in our home. Only once we get to know you all better will I even consider us moving in with your group."

At his suggestion Fury gave a small nod of his head, moving in slightly closer as Aster continued.

"I don't mind my brother being here as long as you can assure me that no one is going to cause him any harm while he's under your care."

"That seems, doable." Fury said, brushing his hair out of his eyes before he smirked up at Aster. "I accept your deal. Tell Jack that he's welcome any time that he would like, and when you are both ready, you're welcome into our home as well."

Wow. This was... a lot different than what he'd been thinking. He'd come to Fury's house expecting to be killed or maimed or something, but coming to an agreement with him wasn't something that he'd even really hoped for. And he definitely hadn't expected Fury to agree to him so readily.

"Although the first thing I'm going to have to teach Jack is that we don't out our own kind. I mean that's why I didn't tell you." Fury sighed with a slight roll of his eyes. "You're taking this all rather well though." He said, eyeing Aster once more as the silver haired male gave him back a tight-lipped grin.

"As long as you don't dragon out on me I'm fine. When Jack showed me I honestly fainted. Twice."

His words pulled a chuckle from the shifter, but Fury gave a short shake of his head as he took yet another step closer, getting into Aster's personal space as he did so.

"No, I don't mean with just that. I mean, Jack told me that he didn't want to tell you because you would hate him, but you honestly don't seem to think any less of him at all."

Jack had told Fury that? Than Fury must have known just what it was that Jack was so afraid that Aster would find out. Not that Aster himself really wanted to know.

"I told him that I didn't need to know." Aster admitted, watching the shock form over Fury's face at his response. "I don't care whatever happened when he was a child. He's my brother and nothing changes that."

A soft smile pulled at the corner of Fury's lips as he stared up at Aster, something close to adoration in his eyes as he let out a small chuckle.

"That's actually rather sweet of you. He was so afraid that you would hate him." Fury said as he slid right up against Aster. "I'm really glad that this whole thing is sorted out now. I kind of missed you. Do you think that..?"

Whatever it was that Fury was about to say, Aster didn't let him finish. Instead he grabbed a hold of the others wrists spinning them around until he slammed him down on the desk, towering over him for a split moment before he dove in and took what he wanted.

Fury let out a small, surprised squeak that was muffled by the sudden action, thrashing for only a moment before he gave into the feeling of it and kissed back.

He knew just what it was that the little prick planned to do. Nothing but tease Aster until he'd pull away and leave him hanging, just like he always did. Welp, it was Aster's turn to get the upper hand now, and he'd have to say that he quite enjoyed the feeling of the smaller male squirming underneath him. As they parted he yanked Fury away from the desk, quickly turning them back around until they were in their original positions. Fury's gaze was a little lost, and his lips were parted in a pant, a bright flush over his cheeks proof of just how flustered Aster had made him.

With a smirk set over his face Aster leaned in, giving a quick lick to his cheek that made the other male yelp in shock before he pulled back and moved himself over to the window.

"I'll see you later Fury." He snickered, the childish scowl over Fury's face absolutely adorable and only fueling his amusement.

Honestly, he was going to have to get the drop on the guy more often.

As he dropped out of the window Aster fell into a shoulder roll, flawlessly getting back up to his feet and continuing on his way back home with the smirk still settle over his face.

He really hadn't excepted this to go over so well, but he couldn't say that he was disappointed. Jack wasn't going to be harmed, if anything ever happened where they had to leave Aster was allowed to go with them, and Fury wasn't a complete asshole.

He already couldn't wait to tell Jack the good news. The boy would no doubt be jumping over the moon at the outcome.

Smiling to himself Aster felt as if the weight on his shoulders just got a whole lot lighter as he placed his hands in his pockets and carried on his way home.

So lost in his own little world was he that he didn't see the pair of bright yellow eyes that peered at the window he'd jumped out of, before they turned to follow him.


	19. Chapter 19

Do You Believe in Magic

Chapter 19

"YOU DID WHAT!"

Aster had honestly never seen his brother this angry before. Jack looked absolutely livid. His eyes were actually glowing, a thing that Aster had never seen them do, and the normally rounded pupils had gone into two sharp slits, making him appear way more intimidating than Aster would have liked to admit.

Taking in a deep breath he looked up at his brother from where he was sitting at their kitchen table. He'd thought that Jack would have been a little bit happier to hear the news, but Jack hadn't really let him get to the end of it either. He'd barely been able to say 'I went over to Fury's place last night...' before Jack had flown off the handle.

"Are you kidding me. After me and North both warned you how dangerous they were and you just waltz right into their territory and..."

"Jack listen." Aster put in quickly, getting up from his seat as he made his way over to his little brother. "I talked to Fury, and he says that he's fine with us."

At his words the anger on Jack's face didn't disappear completely. It faded slightly sure, but it wasn't gone, and it only had a touch of confusion laced in with it. For a moment the boy didn't say anything, just took a step back and licked at his lips quickly while his eyes darted over to the side.

"He's fine with us?" Jack repeated, as Aster gave a nod of his head. "What does that even mean?"

"I went to his house to tell him to back off. I know, dumb move, stop growling." Aster muttered, pointing a finger at his brother in warning as he leveled him with a stern glare. Shifter or not Jack was still his little brother and he better not forget that. "Well anyways, he said that since I know now there's no problem with me tagging along in your little group. He didn't seem too happy with the fact that you outted him as a Shifter but he's willing to forgive you since you don't know any better."

Jack raised his brows while his bright blue gaze darted back over to lock with Aster's emerald greens. He didn't seem to know what to make about the situation. While Aster had at least had the rest of the night... or really, he supposed the early morning to let everything sink in, he wasn't giving the other much time to process it. Then again, he could always say it was a bit of payback for jack dropping the whole 'so ya I'm a Shifter' thing on him.

"Okay." Jack eventual said, dropping himself on the kitchen chair as if his body was too heavy to stand anymore. "So... what does that mean? For both of us?"

Aster retook his spot at the table, his hands coming up to intertwin together while his shoulders raised to meet his eyes for a split moment.

"Well, I told Fury that you, that we, aren't going to live with them right away. I still don't know these people and I don't trust them that much. We'll all get to know each other first and then we can figure out living arrangments later."

"I get to live with Hiccup?"

At the way the teen's whole mood lit up Aster had to bite back on letting out a long groan. Seriously could the boy be anymore infatuated with the kid?

"Not right away Jack." Aster muttered, recalling Fury's words from last night and unable to help but realize just how right Fury had been. Jack was so going to end up proposing to Hic later. "You're going to learn from Fury. He's going to teach you about Shifters and whatnot, and how to fight and everything too I guess."

"Cool." Jack said with a slight shrug. Soon enough however his gaze dropped back to the table top, his teeth coming out to worry his bottom lip before bright blue orbs snapped back up to Aster. "I still think what you did was really dumb Aster."

"Ya, I know."

"No, you don't." Jack snapped, instantly looking sorry for his sharp tone as he forced himself to relax. "Listen, I know this is all new to you and everything, but as a human you can't just place yourself into Shifter affairs, you could end up getting hurt, or worse. If Fury wasn't interested in taking us in, he would have killed you on the spot just for knowing what we are. Humans aren't supposed to know, it becomes dangerous for everyone involved. Seriously you're lucky that he has the hots for you."

A part of Aster wanted to scold the kid for using such words around him, especially about someone that he was interested in, but another part of him knew that Jack was right.

He had no idea how anything in this world worked. If Fury didn't have a soft spot for him and he'd run into one of his other members first than just what could have happened? He didn't want to think about the things that they would do in order to protect their leader. It was honestly a scary thought. These people, or really Shifters, outpowered him so easily he could have left Jack alone again. That wasn't something he was ever interested in doing.

"I'm sorry Jack." Reaching across the table he took a hold of one of his brother's hands and gave it a tight squeeze. "I just wanted to protect you and I did the only thing that I could think of. I didn't mean to stress you out even more."

Jack refused to look at him at first, instead choosing to glare at the table top and ignore the other completely. As the seconds ticked by however he let out a long sigh and squeezed his hand back.

"I know you didn't." Jack said. "But man Aster, I swear sometimes you take years off my life with your stupid choices."

"Hey!"

Taking his hand away from Jack's, Aster gave the boy a solid whack to the back of the head, still making sure to keep it gentle enough not to hurt him. Jack only snickered, curling into one side as he waved his hands out.

"Okay, okay! Sorry!"

With a smile on his face, Aster pulled back, getting up once again from the table as he made his way over to the fridge.

"Well, I'm glad that we got that all out of the way." He admitted. "Now what would you like to eat for breakfast?"

"Double chocolate chip pancakes!" Jack exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air as he rocked back on two legs of his chair.

He should have known. Giving Jack the choice of meals was always going to lead into some type of sugar overdose. Really it was the least he could do for his brother for stressing him out. Without a word of complaint Aster gave a small roll of his eyes as Jack cackled in the back ground while he pulled out the eggs and milk.

(***)

Fury growled lowly to himself as he felt his face flush once again.

It seemed to be that no matter what he did he couldn't stop himself from thinking back to last night and just how it had ended. While he'd been happy to come to an agreement with Aster that didn't lead in either side losing, he hated himself for the swoop in his stomach and the blush on his face whenever he thought back to the kiss that Aster had managed to steal before he took off.

Seriously unfair.

Fury loved teasing, and flirting, but maybe he'd been pushing Aster a little too much in that sense. Obviously the guy was done with his games, but Fury wasn't sure if he was ready to play Aster's either. He was the Alpha here gods damnit! And he'd be damned if he'd let some little human get the drop on him again!

"You okay Fury? Your face is awfully red. You running a fever?"

He nearly jumped when Meatlug raised a hand and pressed it against his forehead, but he managed to catch himself just in time, allowing her to press the back of her hand to his head. Her brows scrunched up together while she stared at her hand, pulling it away after a moment with a low hum.

"Well, you seem warm, but not feverous."

"I'm fine Meatlug." He assured her, forcing a smile to his face when she arched a skeptical brow at him in return. "Would you mind gathering everyone together? I've got something that I need the pack to know."

"Rightieo boss man."

Unable to help a small chuckle at her antis Fury continued on his way towards their dining area. He was hoping that they were all going to take this news well, and that none of them were going to freak out over the fact that he'd known what Jack was for some time and didn't bother to tell them. Still, he was sure that once he explained himself they would be fine with it. He couldn't have the older members of his pack bothering the boy, and the last thing that he wanted was a few of the younger ones to make life harder for Jack when he was trying to figure out just what move to make next.

Taking his seat at the table he let out a long sigh, allowing his head to drop back for a little as the rest of the house hold started to wake.

It was just as he was about to drift off again that he could hear them all shuffling into the room. Tilting his head up he allowed a small smile to come to his face as he watched them drag their feet and open their mouths in wide yawns and glazed over looks. Man, they were all pretty much beat this morning. Maybe he was working them just a little too hard.

As he sat up in his chair, Hiccup took a seat next to him, Stormfly sitting on his other side while Astrid sat on the right side of his little brother. While the rest of them took their seats around the oval shaped table, Fury patiently waited for them all to gather their baring's. This was going to be a lot for them to take in and he didn't want anyone not listening or not grasping all of what he had to say. The last thing he needed right now was for people to misunderstand what was going to happen.

"Good morning everyone." He said, his voice much livelier than the groans he got in return. "I have something that I want to talk to everyone about."

"So, you had to drag us out of bed at this ungodly hour?" Hook muttered, a slight muffle to his words with his face pressed against the table.

"Yes." Fury leveled the Nightmare with a single stare, soon enough turning his gaze back to Storm when she straightened her back up, fighting to look more awake than she truly must have felt.

Some of the others followed her example, Astrid snapping to attention at the sight of her mentor along with Fishlegs and Meatlug. Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut however chose to follow after Hookfang, dropping their heads into their arms while Barf and Belch shook their heads at their mentees.

"I have an announcement to make about a juvenile shifter in the area."

That caught everyone's attention. All eyes were now on him, any tiredness that any of them had been feeling vanishing in an instant as they all lifted their heads from the table. The whole room was oddly silent, every single one of them grasping the seriousness of the situation before he continued.

"I have invited them into our pack, and they have accepted."

"You didn't think to ask us first?" Hook growled, his tone low and his teeth bared as Fury's gaze narrowed down at him.

"Ya! I mean, don't we get a say in this?" Snoutlout added in, beefy arms coming up to cross over his chest as he spoke.

"Quiet."

Surprisingly the order didn't come from Fury, but from Hiccup. Fury was impressed as he watched his little brother stare the other two down with a single glare, his posture and tone commanding their silence and obedience as they shrunk back in their seats.

"Your input will be taken into account, but listen before you speak. Let Fury finish telling his side and then you can ask your questions."

Aw. His baby brother was going to make such a good Alpha. Strict but fair. Reaching under the table Fury took a hold of the boy's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before he let go and turned back to the rest of the table.

"This Shifter is Jack." He wasn't to shocked to see the surprised faces of those around him. After all they had all been with Jack for a little while, the idea of him sneaking under all of their radars must have freaked them out a little bit. If Jack could do it without much effort, then just how many others had managed to do the same thing around them? "He's an Icebane Skrill and he is the only one left in this area. His parents died when he was young, so he knows next to nothing about the way that we do things. This might make him a little... different to train considering that he will mature into an Alpha and is already starting to act like one."

He gave them a moment to let all of that sink in. Thankfully none of them were jumping on him with questions yet, although a few of them appeared to be biting their tongues pretty hard to keep themselves from speaking.

"His brother isn't a Shifter. Aster's parents were apparently caught in a crossfire between Jack's parents and another group. A few years later Jack's parents followed suit and Aster took him in. Jack has been living in secret for an unknown amount of time but it seems that he's decided to tell Aster everything. Aster now knows about us as well, or at least as much as Jack was able to give him. He's agreed that they will join our pack, but they will not be moving in with us right away. He wants us to give them some time to get to know us a little bit more but he's not willing to risk the threat to his brother if they don't join."

Fury could tell that some of them were getting impatient, Hook being the most obvious with the way that he was tapping his fingers aggressively against the table top. Eyeing him carefully Fury arched a brow at him for a moment before he turned to the rest of the table.

"Does anyone have any questions?"

"Why weren't we told about this beforehand?" Storm asked seconds before Hook could open his mouth. She didn't sound angry, just curious, and Fury turned his full attention to her before he spoke.

"I just found out about it myself about a week ago. Jack was the first one to approach me, and with the little information that he knew about other Shifters he was very aggressive. I didn't want anyone heightening that by approaching him while he was trying to make a decision on what to do. No doubt it would lead to a fight and then we would have a real problem on our hands."

"So, are you telling us that Jack told Aster about us?" Barf asked, his brother giving a tilt of his head before he spoke.

"How does Aster feel about all of this?"

"About as well as a human can feel when they find out." Fury answered. "Although I wouldn't shift in front of him anytime soon. It is a lot for humans to take in after all."

"Well, isn't it just perfect that the human you're hitting on is the older brother of the one that Hiccup's been flirting with and that he's a Shifter." Hook sneered, drawing sharp glares from both mentioned males.

"Is there a question in there Hookfang?" Fury asked, his voice carefully even as the redhead bristled.

"We know how well you pick out your mates Fury. Who's to say that Hiccup doesn't have the same problem."

"Hookfang."

"How do we know that this kid and his brother aren't going to turn on us? Or take over? I mean you already said he's going to be an Alpha, why wouldn't he..."

"Hookfang!"

The bite in his voice got the other to stop, snapping his mouth closed but doing nothing to dose the fire in his eyes.

"Jack isn't going to be a problem."

"That's what you said about Whispers."

Fury got up from his seat so fast that it smashed against the floor. The lights flickered for a moment, but by the time they'd come back on he was on top of the other, knocking him flat on his back as he held their faces inches away from each other, his teeth bared and the fear in Hook's eyes nakedly visible.

"Whispers was a mistake, and not one that I'm willing to make again." He hissed, his voice low as he pressed suddenly sharp claws hazardously against Hook's throat, his foot pressing hard against his chest and making it difficult for the other to breath as he gasped out for air. "Being constantly reminded of the failure is not something I appreciate, and you should do well to remember that."

Shoving him hard into the ground Fury got back to his feet, taking a second to breath and recenter himself before he shook his hands out, trying to will the rage back before he'd have to face everyone again. As he turned to the table, everyone looked away, no one willing to look their Alpha in the eye least they attract his attention in the wrong way. Only Hiccup caught his gaze, a worried frown over the boy's face as he gave a tilt of his head.

'You okay?'

The question wasn't asked out loud, but even so Fury could hear it loud as day as he took a step back and gave a small shake of his head.

"If no one has any further questions I'll be leaving."

When no one said anything, or even really moved for that matter Fury turned on his heels and made his way towards the door.

He needed out. He needed to be in a larger space right now. This whole building felt to small, to crowded.

"I'll be back later."

No one was stupid enough to try and stop him as he made his way to the door, and Fury wasted no time in shifting forms once he was out of the house and running into the woods.


	20. Chapter 20

Do You Believe In Magic

Chapter 20

Jack couldn't stop looking over at the door. Every single time a customer came in he would jump, looking like a mixture of excitement and nerves before his face would fall and he would slink away to the back.

Aster could guess what, or really who, he was waiting for, but he wasn't really sure if anyone from House of Lies was going to show up today. He was sure that Fury was going to have his hands full today with everything that was going to have to be put in place, and he wouldn't have been surprised if the guy was going to give them a few more days until he would decide to show up. Poor Jack was no doubt expecting Hiccup to just run in here and hangout with him again, but just like Aster wasn't allowing Jack to go over just yet he was sure that Fury was doing the something with his little brother.

Even though they had come to terms it was no doubt still going to take some time for everything to sink in properly. At this moment he was sure that the one thing that everyone needed right now was space.

"Thank you, come again." Aster said, smiling at the young couple as they waved back and took their bagged meals.

He was a little shocked to see who was holding the door open for them as they left, but he couldn't keep the smile from his face as North entered into his store.

Although the man was smiling as he walked up to the counter, Aster could see the tension in his eyes as he took a quick glance around the store.

"They live closer than I thought." He said, his voice light but unable to hide the creeping worry. "That is them next door no?"

Realizing that he hadn't really mentioned anything about what he'd done last night to their guardian just yet Aster gave the man a small smile, his posture relaxed as he leaned his hip against the counter.

"They're not going to be a problem North, don't worry." He said, unable to help his smile from becoming wider as North arched a brow at him.

"Oh?"

"Ya, I went to speak to Fury last night after you left and we sorted everything out."

North's large eyes went wide, nearly taking up his whole face as his mouth fell open.

"Fury knows you know?"

"Yes, and I spoke to him and we've come to an agreement. Jack and I will join his pack, but we won't be living with them until I say so. Fury's agreed to teach Jack everything that his parents never got to and once they get use to him and take him in as one of their own I have no doubt that he'll be safe."

North's look of shock was quick to be replaced by a skeptical frown, his gaze narrowing slightly as his eyes darted over to the side, as if he could see through the walls and into the store next door.

"He agreed? That is stranger no?"

"He made the offer, it's not too strange to me that he decided to go along with it." Aster said with a light shrug of his shoulders. "He told Jack his choices and I took the better option. Jack apparently didn't have all of the information. Fury forgot to tell him that I was okay to be with them as long as I knew who they all were, and since Jack told me there was no reason that I couldn't join them too."

North gave a small nod of his head, letting out a small huff of air as he tilted his head to the side.

"Is why Jack asked for your memories yes?"

At his question Aster remembered something else that he'd been dying to ask North since Jack had mentioned it last night. Placing his hands down on the counter he peered at the older man, wondering if there might have anything different about him that Aster had maybe just never noticed in all of the years that they had known each other. North allowed him to, although he did seem pretty confused as to why Aster was looking at him so strangely he didn't move away or voice his questions.

"Those memories that Jack was going to give me, he said that you were the one who put them in that box in the first place, that you're some kind of witch or something?"

"Ah," North said, giving a nod of his head as if that was the most normal thing to admit to. "Yes."

Being given such a normal sounding answer for such a strange question through Aster off for a moment. He'd honestly thought that North would try and deny it, or that the man would have a whole spiel about what he was and what it is that he does. But instead he just admitted to it, seeing no other reason to explain himself as he smiled at Aster from across the counter.

Aster could do nothing in return but blink back at him.

It was still a little odd to think that for years both Jack and North had been going behind his back, doing this magic stuff without him knowing. That they had to listen to Aster's rants on how stupid magic was and only bite their tongue in response. He couldn't imagine how much that must have killed them over the years, or how badly they might have wanted to tell him every once and awhile, maybe even explain things from their side, but Aster had always shut them down.

Now he just felt like a jerk. A jerk whose whole world had been spun around and turned over on his head.

"Okay." Was all he found himself saying, unsure if there was anything else to say on the matter. He couldn't even think of questions that he might have wanted to ask North about whatever it was that he did. All he knew was that his brother was a Shifter, and his guardian was a witch. "Are you just here to check up on Jack or would you like something to eat too?"

North perked up at his question, his eyes glowing brightly as he peered over Aster's shoulder and towards the kitchen door.

"Do I smell cookies?"

Unable to help the small chuckle that fell passed his lips Aster gave a nod of his head, waving a hand towards the door as he took a step out of the way.

"Go crazy North."

The man wasted no time, moving faster than someone his age and size should have been able to around Aster and through the door. Watching the door swing behind him Aster crossed his arms lightly over his chest as the chime from the bell alerted him of new customers. Turning back around he put on his people friendly grin and waved a hand out.

"Good morning and welcome to... Oh!"

He wasn't expecting to see Fury, or Hiccup, or that little blond girl he believed was called Astrid. Staring at large number of shifters in his area he couldn't help but feel just a little uneasy, wondering just what it was that they were all doing here.

"Hey Aster." Fury said, a slightly sheepish grin over his face as he walked in with the other two trailing behind him. "Sorry to bother you I was just hoping to steal some food and Hiccup wanted to stop by to see Jack if that's okay?"

Aster stared at them for a long moment. He was... okay with them being here, but he couldn't help but wonder just why they were here in the first place. He'd just assumed that Fury was going to give them a few days. They'd just maybe their deal last night after all but he supposed that he couldn't really stop Fury if he wanted to come in and see them now either. Maybe Fury just needed a moment away form his own group, or maybe he really was just hungry, and Aster was sure that he wasn't lying about Hiccup wanting to see Jack either.

With a nod of his head he gestured once more to the back, unable to help but wonder if North would be able to tell what the kids were once they walked into the room.

"Ya, go ahead. Jack's in the back there Anklebitters."

Hiccup let out an excited squeak, pulling the young blond girl with him by the wrist as they all but ran to the back. Neither Fury or Aster could keep themselves from chuckling as they watched, Fury using the slight distraction to make his way up to the counter.

With everyone else gone Aster was able to turn his full attention to the dark haired male before him, giving Fury a warm smile and receiving a tired one in response.

"You okay?" He asked, his brows drawing together in concern as Fury let out a small scoff and dropped his elbows on the countertop.

"Define okay." He muttered, dropping his forehead into his hands and letting out a long sigh.

Not sure just what to do, or even what was wrong with the other, Aster awkwardly placed his hand against the other male's shoulder, hoping that it would offer him at least a little bit of comfort. Fury humming in response and Aster moved his hand up to run soothingly through his hair. That made a strange sound form from him, a mix between a coo and a purr that Aster had never heard before and highly doubt that it was fully human.

"I didn't think that we were going to see you for a few days." He admitted, only pulling his hand back when Fury made a move to stand up straight.

"Ya, I was actually going to give you guys some more space but..." Fury trailed off, his words dying into nothing as his gaze slowly moved over to the side. "I told the rest of my pack about you and Jack and the agreement that we'd come to." Fury said as Aster crossed his arms over his chest.

"I take it that some of them didn't agree with it."

That was really the only conclusion that he could come to, although he couldn't see why. None of them appeared to have a problem with Jack, but maybe that was only when they didn't know what he was. Aster was still new to this whole Shifting thing, but he was starting to realize just how territorial these guys were. He supposed the only thing that he could really do was thank Fury, no doubt the guy was one of the only ones standing between Jack and Aster, and the rest of the group.

"Most of them were fine." Fury said, leaning against the counter as he ran his hands through his hair, a habit that Aster was staring to reline he did whenever he was getting stressed out about something. "Although I can understand that they weren't too happy with me keeping it from them either but they'll get over it eventually."

"Should I be worried?" Aster questioned, starting to wonder just how safe it was to have his little brother back there without watching him.

At his question Fury's brow furrowed, his eyes narrowing at the table for a moment before he brought bright green orbs up to lock with Aster's.

"No."

His word was oddly final, and Aster actually found himself relaxing at the reassurance that it gave him. If Fury said that it wasn't going to be a problem then he was sure that it wasn't going to be. Whatever problems might end up coming for Fury's end, he would stop it, and if he couldn't, Aster would be there to stand in their way.

"Alright than. Me and Jack will stay out of your hair until their tempers cool down a little bit." Aster said, looking the guy up and down for a minute before he nodded his head over to his counters. "What would you like me to grab you?"

Fury eyed him strangely, as if Aster had just spoken a different langue that he couldn't ever hope to understand.

"What?" He muttered, causing Aster to arch a brow.

"You said that you were hoping to steal some food." Aster reminded him, a small smile crawling back onto his face as Fury's eyes went wide in remembrance. "Would you still like me to get you something pumpkin or has your brain already shrunk from food loss?"

Fury's noses twitched at the insult, his brows narrowing down over his eyes as he hissed at the other. "Don't call me pumpkin."

"Oh?" Aster said, unable to help the smirk on his face as he stared at Fury through half lidded eyes. "Would you like babydoll instead?"

He couldn't help but laugh at the other when Fury's face went bright red, and the scowl set over his features was just to adorable to pass up. Moving quickly, he leaned over the counter and press a chaste kiss to the others lips. When he pulled back he only saw that Fury's face had gotten even redder and that he was completely fluster over something so little. The whole thing was just to precious.

"Aw. Careful Fury, I might end up eating you if you continue to be so cute."

Fury grumbled something lowly under his breath, but a small smile did tug at the corner of his lips for a moment letting Aster know that he wasn't really all that mad.

"Salmon."

"Pardon?" Aster said, a little thrown off by the change.

"Salmon." Fury repeated, a small smirk tugging at his lips as he leaned on the counter again, giving a small arch to his back as he did so. "What's wrong Aster? A little distracted?"

"Minx." Aster grumbled, throwing the cloth he had over his shoulder into the boy's face.

Fury let out a little laugh, pulling the cloth off his face and placing it on the counter. Sliding down a little bit he followed Aster to the deli counter, dragging his hand over the glass lightly as Aster pulled the top open.

"Okay, what type of bread would you like?"

"Surprise me." Fury said, a small, slightly tired grin pulling at his lips as he looking down at the counter. "I'm not good at making food, I'd no doubt pick the wrong things and it would taste horrible."

Aster snickered at the honesty in his words. Picking out a few different things he quickly put it together, finishing it off with a diagonal cut.

"Here or to go Boobear?"

"Oh my gods." Fury groaned, dropping his head into his folded arms that he rested on the counter. "You're not going to stop are you?" He grumbled, peeking out at Aster through his arms as Aster smirked back at him, placing the sandwich on the plate and putting it next to Fury's elbow.

"Not until I find the right one Babyangel."

Fury grumbled at him again, snatching the plate off the counter top and glaring at Aster over the glass as he closed the deli again.

"You're despicable."

"Aw, I don't mean anything by it Babe."

"Ugh, I'm ignoring you." Fury muttered, turning his back on Aster and walking away towards one of the tables.

Aster chuckled at his retreating back, allowing his eyes to drift downwards for a second as he bit at his bottom lip, a smirk crawling to his face when Fury glared at him over his shoulder. Sending him a wink he received a single finger in return. He would have gone over and spent a little more time bothering Fury, but the bell chimed again and he was drawn away to help his next set of costumers.

As he went back to work Aster couldn't help but be constantly be drawn over to Fury's table. A small warmth building up in his heart as he watched the other with a smile on his face.


	21. Chapter 21

Do You Believe In Magic

Chapter 21

"You okay?"

Jack wasn't really sure just what answer to give to his brother for such a simple question.

Was he okay? Yes? Maybe? Really, he should have been fine. Everything worked out in his favor in the end, and he got to hangout with Hiccup again so... but he was going to be going back to school today. That meant that he was going to be around the rest of the younger shifter without Fury's protection. Not that he really needed it but it was a good comfort to know that their Alpha was around to put them in place if they tried to mess with Jack. It's not like he didn't think that Hiccup would stand up for him either, or that he was incapable of defending himself, but they were a large group of highly trained fighters, and Jack only knew what he managed to figure out himself. Compared to them he might as well have been a toddler.

Forcing a smile to his face to help put Aster's nerves at ease he stirred the milk in his bowl, drowning the last few pieces that he had in it.

"Ya. I mean, it's going to be interesting that's for sure." He admitted with a light shrug.

Aster chuckled from his side of the table, leaning back in his chair before he got to his feet.

"Well, I can imagine that, that's the understatement of the century."

Jack didn't bother saying anything when his bowl was taken, it didn't really feel all that hungry anyways. Instead he followed his brother's lead, getting up from the table and grabbing a hold of the cereal boxes in order to place them back on the top of the fridge.

"If you need any help though, or if you just want to come home, don't be afraid to call me okay?" Aster said as he dumped out both of the bowls before he turned on the tap and placed them next to the sink.

"Thanks Aster."

Really Jack couldn't have asked for a better brother. Aster was taking all of this extremely well and was being incredibly supportive. Even when he'd tried to think of the best-case scenario all of these years he'd always thought that at the very least Aster would have kicked him out of the house. This was a dream come true.

Now if he could just make it through school without being killed by the others than it would all be good.

"I'm going to head to school." He said suddenly, snatching up his backpack from where it sat next to the door.

"Already?" Aster asked, his eyes darting over to their clock that hung over the wall before they moved back to his brother. "Isn't it a little bit early?"

"Um," Jack mumbled, a light blush coming to his face as he nervous smile pulled at his lips, "uh, ya, but you know Hic said that he wanted to walk to school together today and he's gonna have to leave early so that no one else tags along."

"Won't it piss Fury off if you're taking his brother out alone?" Aster asked, his voice deadpanned as he stared at the teen with half lidded eyes.

"Only if we get caught?" Jack said, his words sounding more like a question as his hand came up to nervously ruffle through his hair. "By the end of the day I'm sure that his temper will cool down so it's all good."

"Em hm." A smirk was pulling at Aster's face as Jack scowled at his older brother and if he wasn't sure that he was going to get his ass beat for it he would have flipped the guy off. Older, excepting brother or not.

"Goodbye Aster." Jack sighed with a roll of his eyes, heading out the door, his face only getting hotter at the sound of laughter following after him.

"Well you know what? I don't think I have to worry about Fury." Jack muttered to himself, rolling his shoulders back and sticking his nose in the air. "he can come after me if he wants but there's nothing that he can do if Hiccup wants to hangout with me." He assured himself as he headed down the stairs. "So bring it on. Even if he puts me in the hospital I'm sure that Hiccup would still come visit me."

"Ya, I would."

Jack yelped, jumping nearly a foot in the air at the sudden voice behind him. Spinning around he scowled harmlessly at the auburn haired male who was doubled over in laughter.

"Hey." He muttered, giving a tapped to the boy's nose to get his attention. "Not nice."

Hiccup snickered at him, trying to muffle it by covering his mouth with his hand.

"Sorry Jack." He said, dropping his hands as he made his way to stand next to the others side. "You just made it to easy."

"Ugh. My wounded pride." Jack whined, throwing himself over the boy's smaller shoulders as he leaned into him, surprised that Hiccup managed to hold him up easily. "What are you doing here though?" He asked, unable to help the small smirk that tugged at his lips as a light pink spread over Hiccup's face at their close proximity.

"Well I um, I didn't want to wait at the stop sign. It would be all too easy for the others to find me and I kinda just wanted to hangout with you for a bit so..."

Aw, Jack snickered as he pulled back from the boy and stood on his own feet. That was actually rather adorable. Hiccup just wanted him all to himself. What a little cutie.

As he shifted the bag on his shoulders he nodded his head towards the stairs, "Ready to get going?"

Hiccup gave him a smile in return, nodding his head as they started down the stairs together.

"So, just so I'm ready," Jack muttered, his one hand coming up to run through his hair as his eyes darted away to the side, "are the rest of the guys going to try and beat me or something? Like, is there any type of initiation thing that I need to worry about or are they unhappy or anything like that?"

These were things that Jack had been hoping to talk to Hiccup about yesterday when he'd stopped over, but he'd never been given the chance. He didn't feel very comfortable trying to talk about it with the way that Astrid watched him, and once North had come into the room there was no way he was going to be opening his mouth about it. Regardless of the fact that North knew about what he was and what the others were Jack didn't want to put him in any more danger by giving him even more information than he already had. Fury already wasn't going to be too happy with the idea that an outsider knew so much about them, let alone a witch.

At his question however Hiccup simple gave a tilt of his head, his eyes narrowing in thought for a moment before he ever so slow shook his head.

"I don't... think so." He mumbled out slowly, as if he needed time to think about those words. "You know to be honest I never really can tell with these guys, but don't worry, if they try and start anything I'll put them in their place. You're one of us now after all."

As he spoke he reached over, intertwining his fingers with Jack's and bringing a bright blush to the boy's pale face.

"Thank Hic." Jack said, the small smile over his face genuine as he squeezed the thin fingers in his own. "But um, I don't want to sound mean or anything, but you did just get your shifting abilities, right? Do you know how to control them well enough to..." He trailed off, not really sure where he was going with it.

Really nothing should be able stop stop Jack if they gave him a hard time and he shifted to take care of them. But, as he'd thought before, they were all highly trained and shifting out in the middle of school was not really something that he was looking forward to at any time soon. In fact, if he ever did that they would probably end him just to keep their own group safe. Still, he was pretty much asking Hiccup if he would shift to help him out if his group got a little out of hand and he wasn't really sure if that was polite or not. Probably not though. They were Hiccup's friends first after all and he was pretty much asking him if he would fight them off. Not really the best way to go about a situation if he was being honest.

Not only that but Hic was a new shifter. Jack could still remember how hard it was for him to control... well, anything really. He could still remember what had happened when he'd first shifted. He'd tried to hold it in for so long. He'd hoped that if he could somehow stop his body from shifting once he reached of age than maybe he never would and Aster would never leave him. Instead all it had done was made his stuttering worse, and built his power up until the point where it couldn't be held in anymore.

He could still hear Daggur's screams when he'd gotten caught in the blast...

"Jack?"

Blinking himself out of his thoughts he turned back to the soft call of his name, forcing a smile onto his face in order to help ease the look of concern over Hiccup's.

"Sorry." He chuckled, hoping to pass off as nonchalant. "I uh, I just got thinking you know?"

For a moment longer Hiccup just continued to stare at him. Eventually his lips tugged up in a small smile, no doubt looking just as fake as Jack's, but Jack appreciated the fact that he was trying to make him feel more at ease.

"No problem." Hiccup said, giving a small shrug of his shoulders as he pulled them out of Jack's building and into the crisp, cool air. "Just don't worry about the rest of them. I don't need to shift to take care of them. I've actually got a few tricks up my sleeve. Fury didn't know if I was going to shift or not so he made sure to teach me how to hold my own against anyone in a shifted form."

"That would actually be pretty cool to see." Jack said. "Such a tiny you standing up against giant dragons with nothing but your bare hands. Color me curious. Have you ever had to do it before?"

Hiccup gave a small scoff at his question, accompanied with a really hard eye roll that made Jack snicker before the boy spoke.

"Oh ya. Trust me, once you get to know them all, you'll understand just how unruly they can be. I mean once I had to stop the twins from stealing a whole herd of sheep from a local farmer without having them drop them once they were a few hundred feet in the air. They all ended up on the roof of a local college. I'm pretty sure they still talk about it."

Pulling the boy in close Jack couldn't help but laugh. Maybe he was worrying too much. Hanging out with these guys sounded like it was going to be a blast.

(***)

Fury felt awful.

It wasn't exactly an uncommon feeling to him, but this time, it just felt so much stronger. It weighted down in his stomach as if he'd eaten nothing but rocks, and an ever persistent guilt nudged at the back of his skull continuously. He knew why he felt this way to, and he'd been trying to avoid it for the last few days. Hoping that it would just go away or that it would subside. But it hadn't yet and as time crawled on it only seemed to get worse.

He'd over reacted. He knew that he had. As a leader his behavior had been unacceptable. As a friend it had been horrifying.

It didn't matter what Hookfang had said, he should have never gone after him like he had. He shouldn't have lashed out the way that he did. The guy had just felt betrayed, and Hook had never been one to enjoy being kept in the dark about anything, and he had every right to be suspicious about the two that Fury had invited into their group without talking it over with them all first. Fury was their Alpha, he was supposed to be looking out for them, not outsiders, and Fury knew that. He knew just what had happened the last time they'd brought someone in. He knew just how much his pack had paid for his mistake and that it was only right that they should call him out on some of his actions whenever they were uncertain about them. After all they were supposed to be a team. Fury being their Alpha or not he didn't run his pack like others did. He was supposed to hear them all out before he went ahead and did anything. It was only right that they all got a say in matters, and instead he'd just taken that away from them all. And when Hook had tried to say anything about it, Fury went right for his throat.

He didn't want to dominate his friends though. His job was to protect them, not abuse them, and yet he'd done just that.

So here he'd been for the last ten minutes. Standing outside Hook's bedroom door with his fist raised inches away. This wasn't the first time he'd attempted to knock on it, but every time he got close he couldn't help but freeze up. He knew that it should have been easier than this, but he always tried his hardest not to lash out at them and apologizing for it was just making it seem that much more real. Sure, while he might have put them in their place verbally when they were getting out of hand, he'd just about tore into Hook's face.

He'd thought about it. He'd given it serious contemplation for a split second to long and that alone made the shame feel as if it was burning right through to his core. What Hook said shouldn't have been mentioned. Fury didn't need constant reminders about it and if Hook had wanted to talk to him about it he really should have gone a different way. But...

Fury jumped, so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't heard Hookfang moving around inside or even when he'd started to turn the handle. Thankfully he didn't seem to be the only one startled, Hookfang eyes going wide in shock, his whole body jerking back as a sharp curse slipped passed his lips.

"Jesus Fury." He muttered, his hand coming up over his heart as he leaned back. "You scared the crap out of me."

"Right. Sorry." Fury muttered, lowering his hand and moving out of the way. "Hookfang, I want to talk to you."

The red head gave a tilt of his head, his eyes narrowing as he slowly closed the door behind him.

"Sure. What do you want to talk about?"

Coughing into his hand in order to help him stall just a little bit longer, Fury allowed his gaze to drop to the side in a slight show of submission. There would be no point in trying to lord over Hook and put him even more on edge. As it was now he was probably waiting for the Alpha to lash out at him again, maybe even this time worse considering no one would be around to stop him.

"I, I wanted to apologize," Fury started, bringing his gaze back up to lock with the golden orbs that stared down at him. "I shouldn't have... yesterday, when you said your piece. I shouldn't have reacted the way that I did, and I'm sorry. As your leader I'm ashamed of my reaction. I should have let all of you know earlier and I shouldn't have kept it from you."

Hook stood there in silence, his face unreadable as he leaned against the doorframe with his thick arms crossing over his chest. His air of indifference actually helped to calm Fury's own jumping senses, helping him to relax a little bit more as they stared at one another.

"I just...I know with everything that we've all been through our pack is a little... quick to jump at anyone that they see as a threat. I was worried if I told you guys about what I knew you'd go after Jack with or without my permission."

"And you didn't want to piss off your new boyfriend by having your friends attacking his little brother." Hook put in, a spark of annoyance escaping from Fury in a low growl.

"This has nothing to do with Aster."

"If you say so." Hook shrugged, pushing himself away from the door with a strange air of grace that was rare to see coming from him. "Look Fury, I get it okay?" He sighed. "I would have gone after Jack if I'd known, I wouldn't have given him a chance to choose anything. I don't really understand how you could with what happened with the last one."

"Jack's a lot younger than Whispers' was." Fury muttered, feeling defensive over the boy now that he was technically one of their own. "His parents died, he doesn't know about our ways..."

"And he's a good kid and yada, yada, yada." Hook mumbled with a roll of his eyes and a wave of his hands. "I'm not saying that his situation doesn't suck. I couldn't even being to imagine what I would do if I hadn't grown up with you and the rest of the gang." He admitted, Fury's shock being shown clearly for a spilt second over his face before he managed to cover it. "But you know that it's not really in my nature to stop and look at the whole picture. That's why you're the leader. If you think that this kid will be good with us than I trust you, and I shouldn't have said anything in front of the rest of the group. Next time I have any ideas I'll make sure to pull you aside."

This was going... oddly well. Too well if anyone were to ask Fury. This wasn't like Hook at all. He seemed as if he'd actually thought everything out. As if he'd been thinking about nothing but the situation and everything that could have gone differently if he hadn't acted like he did. And he could actually see where they had both gone wrong. He was actually looking from Fury's point of view too and it was just...strange.

He must have been staring at Hookfang to long however as the blond gave a tilt of his head and an arch of his brow. It was only when he waved a hand in front of his face that Fury snapped back and gave a small shake of his head.

"You okay?" Hook asked, dropping his hand back to his side as Fury shifted his weight over to one foot.

"I feel like I should be asking you the same thing." He said, tilting his head to the side as he regarded his friend. "I mean, I came to apologize but I thought you put up some sort of fight about it."

"I've been hanging out with Stormfly a lot recently."

Ah, and that actually explained a lot.

Storm was always really good at taking everyone's point of view into consideration. If they'd been hangout than Hook could have already ranted to her about this situation and gotten a little insight to both sides of the story. No doubt she'd even let Hook know that Fury would end up apologizing to him eventually.

She'd always been good at knowing his next move, and although it was a little creepy it was what made him pick her as his right hand.

Although Hook and Storm had never really gotten along much before. He could barely get them to work together a few weeks ago without her beating on Hook for skipping out on the work. Just when had it got to the point that they were hanging out with each other without the rest of the group around to break up any type of quarrel that they had? And since when did Hookfang bother to listen to anyone long enough to get their opinion? Since when had he bothered to listen to anyone at all? Other than listening to orders that came straight from Fury the guy really had no interest in paying much attention to anyone else.

Something was going on between those two. Fury was going to have to start paying a little bit more attention.

Unable to help a small smirk from tugging at the corner of his lips Fury clasped Hook strongly on the shoulder, earning himself a confused stare from the bigger male. "Well, congrads. I hope it works out for you two."

He knew that he'd guessed right when Hook's face flooded red, a river of incomprehensible words tumbling passed his lips and tripping over themselves as he glared at his alpha. With an evil snicker Fury slipped away, chackling loudly when that other yelled a few colorful words at his retreating form.


	22. Chapter 22

Do You Believe In Magic

Chapter 22

Aster felt like his feet were about to fall off.

It was days like these that he regretted not having anyone else working in the store with him. He'd ben running back and forth all day long, trying to cook sweets, and make food while keeping the store clean and serve everyone while at the same time making sure that the line kept moving.

His store wasn't normally this bad, and while he was grateful that he had been swamped he was thankful that he was finally in a lull and could rest for about two seconds.

Giving out a long sigh he rested his head back, halting in wiping down the table that he'd been working on for only a moment before the bell chimed. He wanted to groan, but suddenly the air felt different. He could feel every muscle in his body tensing, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end as his eyes narrowed at the table under his hands. It was odd, but he didn't want to turn around, he didn't want to face which ever customer had entered his store, and he didn't like the reason why.

He wanted to attack them. Whoever it is he wanted to turn around and lunge at them, sink his nails into their throat and rip it out. A sudden rage burned so deeply within him that it made his blood boil and his lips pull back into a snarl.

Blinking he took a step back.

What on earth...?

"You open?"

His head whipped around so fast that everything blurred together for a split moment. The rage was back, this time ten times worse as he turned to face the stranger who was just inside the door.

The man was smirking back at him, and Aster just felt his temper flare even more at the look as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"What do you want?"

He had no idea why he was being so defensive with this guy, he couldn't even figure out how to calm himself down and it would have bothered him more if he wasn't so pissed.

The guy was tall, just about as tall as Aster was, but his build was slightly slimmer. His eyes were strange, almost milky looking, with a scar that stretched down from above his right eye towards his thin lips. When his smirk stretched even wider it showed off a pair of oddly sharp fangs that were a good amount longer than what Aster would have considered normal. His ash colored hair brushed over his pale skin, highlighting his sharp cheekbones and other striking features.

Even with the scar and the offsetting look of his eyes, Aster hated to admit that he wasn't hideous. If anything, he had a type of dangerous air about him, one that Aster was sure some people found alluring and pulled them in with no problem.

And there was something about his smell. It's not that he smelt bad, but there was mix of something. Of something familiar that irked Aster, that made him want to go over and throttle the guy. But he couldn't place just what it was.

And it only pissed him off more.

Giving the guy another once over Aster wanted nothing more than to just throw him right out of his store, and from the look over the strangers face he could tell that he knew just what he was thinking.

"'fraid not." Aster muttered, throwing the cloth over his shoulders as he narrowed his bright green eyes at the man.

"Your sign says that you're open until 9." The man said, inviting himself in as he sauntered further into the store. "So, I'd just like to see what you have."

Although it stroked at Aster's rage, he couldn't just kick the guy out either. Or really, he could he supposed, it was his store after all, but...

His gaze narrowed further as the guy strutted passed him, walking up to his counter without sparing Aster a second glance.

There was something about him that made Aster not want to take his eyes off of him. Something about the way that he moved and just the general air around him that made him want to watch him as closely as possible. If he was here than at least Aster could do that, if he kicked him out than there was no way that he would be able to gather any more information on him.

Abandoning the table that he'd been cleaning Aster stalked back over to get behind the counter, making sure to shove his shoulder into the guy as he passed. Once he made contact he almost slowed to a stop, his gaze softening for a bit at the oddness of his own behavior.

What on earth was going on with him?

What was it about this guy that was making him act so strangely?

Shaking his head to try and help resort his thoughts he continued on his way, ignoring the completely justified glare that he received from his only customer in the store. It was only once he was behind the counter, tossing the cloth into the disinfected bucket by the sink, that he turned his attention back to the man. He couldn't even find it in himself to force a fake smile to his face as he stared at the guy, the words almost stuck in his throat as they just took a moment to stare at each other.

After a long few seconds he took in a deep breath, his nose flinching as the scent hit him again. "What do you want?"

"Friendly service." The stranger scoffed, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he leaned back slightly. "I can see why no ones bothered to stop in here."

"Actually, I just had a rush." Aster said, a wicked smile pulling at his lips as he glared down at the other. "They must have known that you were coming through and cleared out."

To his surprised the guy actually laughed, the sound grating on his nerves as the smile slipped off his face.

"Well, well, look who's got teeth." The man grinned, showing off his own set of oddly sharp canines. "What would you suggest?"

For a moment Aster had no idea what he was talking about. It took him a little longer than he would have liked to admit to realize that the guy was here to get something to eat. Shaking his head once more he rested against the back counter, crossing his arms over his chest while the other just continued to smirk.

"Make up your own mind." He grumbled hotly.

He wasn't sure why, he never had any problem with suggesting things to people before.

Jesus what was wrong with him?

He couldn't even fight against himself. It was as if it wasn't really him talking but something completely different. He felt like he was locked inside his own mind while something else took over, something more aggressive and more possessive than he'd ever been. Something more protective and dangerous to anything that he could take as a threat. He was trying to shake out whatever had taken a hold of him, but it was as if he was watching from the inside, not able to grab ahold of the controls that were just inches from his fingertips.

For his part the stranger didn't say anything. Any amusement that had been over his face had vanished, leaving nothing but a flat stare behind. Once again, they were locked in some sort of unspoken contest with each other, neither willing to back down as they summed the other up.

"I have a feeling that this will be interesting."

Aster wasn't sure that he liked the sound of that, and he certainty didn't like the slow, predatory grin that was crawling slowly over the man's face. He couldn't place his finger on just what it was about this guy that unsettled him, but he was starting to think that maybe it wasn't just one thing, maybe it was everything about this guy.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Aster growled as bright green orbs narrowed sharply at the man who slithered away.

"Nothing. I'll be seeing you later."

He gave a mocking finger wave over his shoulder as he left, and Aster found that even as he watched him leave, he couldn't seem to find it in himself to relax. It was the smell, the scent. It still lingered around his store. Around his territory. It felt wrong, invasive, and he couldn't help but wonder just when he'd become like this. He was starting to remind himself a little bit of Fury and the rest of his pack of shifters.

Pushing that thought out of his head Aster slipped into the kitchen, being quick to snatch up a long line of butcher twine and a lighter. When he made his way back out to the front of the store again he tied the rope around throat of the tap and lit it up. He only allowed the flame to exist for a moment before he blew it out, letting the dull glow eat away at the rest of the rope in turn. As the think smell wafted into the air he breathed it in deeply, a small part of him finding comfort in the fact that the other guys scent was slowly starting to fade, being chased away by the overpowering scent of the smoke.

Turning back to face the front of his store he couldn't help the burning feeling of wonder over who the strange was, and just where he had come from.

He didn't know what to make of the small voice in the back of his mind that roared in agreement.

(***)

"So, what does a skrill look like anyways?"

Jack paused in the eating of his apple as he stared across the table at the twin he'd come to know as Ruffnut.

Her brows were narrowed over her eyes, as if she could have somehow seen his shifter form if she could only squint hard enough. Her brother sitting next to her tapped at his chin with his finger, his face sharing an eerily similar look to her own before he pointed his finger at the white haired teen.

"I too have wondered this." Tuffnut said, turning to his sister, "I have heard stories that they're very ugly."

"Indeed. I believe that I have heard the same ones." Ruffnut said while Jack scowled at the two of them and chomped down on his apple to keep himself from saying anything stupid.

"Hush you two." Astrid muttered with a roll of her eyes. "Skrills are magnificent looking, and you'd know that if you bothered reading the book that Gobber assigned us on the different dragon types."

"Ugh, reading?" Tuff groaned.

"While we're still alive?" Ruff added, sounding as if it was the worst thing in the world that she could think of.

"Ruffnut, you read that book on medieval torture techniques just last week." Astrid pointed out, waving her forkful of soggy beans at the other blond.

"Well ya." Ruff said, a smile pulling at her lips as she crossed her arms on the table. "But that one was actually interesting."

"So many new ideas." Tuffnut chuckled, his grin the embodiment of evil that made Jack swallow his mouthful loudly.

Maybe he was getting in a little to deep with these guys. They weren't about to do some weird initiation type of thing with him were they? Oh crap. He wasn't going to wake up with his room completely boobytrapped with an assortment of weird old and new torture inspired tricks was he? Just what had he gotten himself into.

"Enough."

Hiccup's voice was oddly sharp, the two twins snapping their mouths shut and their eyes to their leader as the young shifter stared them down with a stern glare.

"You guys are unsettling Jack, and you're being very rude. If Jack wishes to show us just what his form looks like than he will on his own terms. Until than may I remind you that insulting someone else form is one of the most disrespectful things that you could do and that if you don't want to be flying suicides until you puke I suggest you find something else to talk about."

Jack had never seen someone nod their heads so fast. He could have sworn that their necks were going to break or that their heads were going to go flying just from the sheer force of it. He didn't miss the way that Astrid gave a small snicker, being careful to hid it while she took a sip of her orange juice, but when she met his gaze she gave him a quick wink of encouragement.

Jack grinned back at her in return, unable to help himself as he pressed into Hiccup for a moment before he pulled back away. Hiccup flushed at their close proximity, any sense of dominance and control he had fleeing for a split moment as he gave out a small squeak at the body that had pressed against his.

An evil smirk crawled its way over Jack's face at his adorableness, but before he had any time to try and embarrass the boy further, Fishlegs was suddenly in his face, pulling his own tray close to Jack's other side as his bright eyes gazed down at the white haired teen.

"You know now that you're one of us and everything, I was wondering if you would mind answering a few questions for me?"

The blond's eyes were huge, lit up in sheer wonder that left Jack stump and honestly gave him the slight feeling of being a bug under a microscope. He had no idea just what Fishlegs could ask, he wasn't even sure on what they might have already known and he sure knew that he probably wouldn't be able to answer a lot of their questions himself. Everything that he knew was self-taught from trial and error. If they were hoping he'd be able to give them all kinds of Skrill secrets than they were going to be highly disappointed.

"Ya, ya. No one cares about your cue cards Fishface." Snoutlout said, coming in between the two and shoving the bigger male away as he sat down next to Jack. "I wanna know about your fire power. How long can you stay in the air? How's your evasive maneuvers? Bet they're not as good as mine. Although that shouldn't come as any surprise. I am the best one on the team for everything." He boasted, lifting his chin high as he flexed one of his arms.

Jack... wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to that...

"Ya right Snotlout, everyone knows that Astrid's the best at evasive maneuvers." Ruffnut pointed out while her brother waved a finger at the boy.

"And Fishlegs holds the record for the longest time of staying in the air. Or did you forget that he can hover?"

"Ya Snotlout, the only thing you can do better than us is light your body on fire." Ruffnut snickered.

"That boy is on fire!" Tuffnut sang suddenly, throwing his head back as he continued on and his sister joined in while Snoutlout's face lit up bright red.

"Hey! Stop picking on the popular guy!"

"You can light your whole body on fire?" Jack asked in awe, drawing Snoutlout's attention away from the twins as he stared up at the bigger male. "That's so cool. I've never heard of it before."

"Oh dear gods."

Astrid's groan could be heard seconds before her head met with the table as Snoutlout's whole face lit up, a smug look crossing over his features of pure delight soon enough while and threw an arm around Jack's shoulders.

"Jacky boy, you've got good taste."

One sharp growl from Hiccup and the bigger male was quick to take back his arm, smiling sheepishly at the much smaller male as he held his hands up in surrender.

"Whoops. Sorry. Hands to myself."

Unable to help his own snicker Jack turned back to Hiccup briefly, pressing his head to the underside of Hiccup's throat for a second before lifting his head to nuzzle his cheek. Hiccup let out a long sigh, a small smile on his lips as he pressed his forehead back against Jack's gently.

"Um, so Jack, back to my questions." Fishlegs said, his words holding a sheepish air to them as the two turned to face the blond.

Never in a million years had Jack ever thought that he would have fit into a pack this well. And he sure as hell never thought that he would ever be on good terms with the Hooligans of all people. And yet here he was, laughing it up with them and being taken in as one of their own as if he'd been born to their pack.

He couldn't stop the warmth from flooding his chest as he gave a quick glance around at all of their faces. When his parents had died, he'd lived in constant fear that someday a group would come along and take him out. That he would end up dying cold and alone, his body turning to ash as he would fade away with Aster never knowing what had ever happened to him.

This. This was better than he could have ever dreamed, and he'd never let anyone take it away from him.


	23. Chapter 23

Do You Believe In Magic

Chapter 23

Aster hadn't seen the random stranger around for the last few days, and he'd been looking for him. It didn't seem to matter where he went though, or at what time, the guy hadn't been seen or heard of by anyone.

He hadn't told Fury about him either, he wasn't really sure why but something told him to keep his mouth shut, at least until he knew a little bit more. At least until he knew just what it was that bothered him so much about the elusive man anyways. Only once he had that figured out would he be able to go to Fury or the rest of his group with something. He didn't want to just seem paranoid. He didn't want them to think that he was crazy because of the weird way that he was feeling. He himself felt like he was going crazy, like there was something inside of him that was just waiting to get out. Something that this guy had awoken in him just so that it could rip the other apart.

"Hey, you okay?"

Blinking out of his thoughts Aster turned his attention to the male in front of him.

Fury looked down at him in concern, snatching up a folded chair and dragging it over next to where Aster sat. Aster didn't say anything at first, just content to watch as Fury downed his water bottle and took a few deep breaths, his heartrate no doubt still sky rocketing after the drill that the other had just watched him go through.

Surprisingly he didn't mind these days. For a while now he'd been going over to their house after he was done work, tagging along in the exercises that he was allowed and sitting out on the ones that could only be done by shifters. It was fascinating to watch, and he couldn't have been more impressed to see just how quickly Jack seemed to be picking up on everything.

Also, he was getting use to everyone's shifted forms. The first few times that he had watched it he'd had to leave, unable to believe his own mind for the longest time before he could sit through and watch a whole training section. Now that he could though he couldn't help but be in awe over every single form that he did see.

There were just so many and each one work so differently from the last, his mind was constantly categorizing everything that they did. What made them each different and what their strengths and weakness were. He wasn't sure just why his mind did this, but he couldn't seem to stop himself even if he wanted to. The moment that he watched them fighting, working together, or even just playing around, he was memorizing everything, some small part of him telling him that this is the way that it was supposed to be, a protective part of him wanting nothing more than to watch over them all and keep them from any type of harm.

"Aster?"

Pulling himself from his thoughts once again he turned to the one beside him, unsure of just when he'd taken his eyes away from Fury in the first place.

"You know, if it's too much you don't have to be here." Fury mumbled, playing with the now empty water bottle in his hands as he picked at the label. "I can watch out for Jack, everyone here loves him anyways so he won't be in any sort of danger you know."

"Oh, no, I know that, and I'm getting use to the dragons and what not." Aster said, shifting in his chair slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I was just, thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself." Fury snickered, earning himself a harmless whack from the other. Fury chuckled at him, reaching over Aster to place the useless item on the table beside him before the smile fell from his lips. "Honestly though, if somethings bothering you just let me know alright?"

It was sweet. Really it was. With how much Fury had on his plate the idea that he would still take time to watch out for Aster was nice, and Aster couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corner of his lips over it. He had a hard enough time just watching after Jack, he couldn't imagine having to watch out for so many more people on top of that.

Reaching out he gently grab a hold of Fury's hand, intertwining their fingers together as he leaned over just enough to place a soft kiss against the others cheek.

"Thanks Fury." He muttered as he nuzzled the space just below his ear. "But I'm fine, really."

When he pulled back he raised a brow at the look of shock over the others face. Fury wasn't even looking at him, his eyes wide and his lips slightly parted as his focus seemed to be in an entirely different place. Unsure if he'd done something wrong Aster gave a gentle squeeze to the others hand, succeeding in drawing his attention back to him as Fury snapped his gaze back to meet his own.

"You alright?"

"Did you just..?" Fury trailed off, his words seeming to die on the tip of his tongue as his gaze narrowed, green orbs casting to the side for a split second before he gave a nearly violent shake of his head. "No, no. Never mind you couldn't have...sorry, it's nothing."

Okaaayyy. Just what had he done? Fury didn't seem upset with whatever it was exactly, but he wish he knew just what had made the guy act so weird. Was Fury just embarrassed over the display of affection with the rest of his group around? He didn't seem to have much of a problem when they were out in public but maybe around his group it was different? Maybe he was supposed to look more like their unapproachable leader and not like he was in some type of high school romance with a store owner.

Not that he could really blame the guy if that's what it was. After all Fury was some type of badass shifter that lead a pack of highly trained warriors like himself. Next to them Aster didn't have much to contribute to their little group. Not only was he their weakest link but he could see just why it might be embarrassing for Fury to have the guy showcasing his interest in him when there obviously wasn't anyway he could measure up to them.

Now that he was thinking about it the rest of the group probably saw him as some sort of joke. Aster wasn't like them, he wasn't even like North. There was nothing special or magical about him, he was just some human who'd gotten caught up in their world.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even see the hand that Fury waved in front of his face, or when the guy gave a roll of his eyes and got up from his own chair. He sure as hell tuned back in however when Fury plopped down on his lap, grinning in triumph when Aster's hands automatically came up to rest on his waist and his orbs snapped up to lock with the shining emerald that the other called his eyes.

Well, there went his theory of Fury being uncomfortable with showing affection with him around his group.

"There we go. Thought this would help." Fury smirked, moving his hands up to play with the collar of Aster's shirt, straightening it out before he ran his hands over Aster's shoulders. "You know normally I don't have to work this hard to keep someone's attention."

He almost sounded offended, but Aster knew better from the look on his face that he was just teasing. Smirking up at the other he gave a low chuckle, one of his hands running up and down the guy's side soothingly while the other reached up to cup his cheek.

"Aw, sorry kitten, you feeling a little left out?"

Fury scowled at the nickname, a little growl slipping passed his lips as he as his hands tightened on Aster's shirt.

"Again, with the nicknames?"

"Haven't found one I like yet." Aster snickered, finding the flush over the boy's face the cutest thing as he pulled him down.

Their lips just barely brushed before a splash of cold water made them both yelp, shooting back from each other as Fury snapped his head over to glare at the one who'd dared interrupt them.

"Ya, ya. Save that look for someone it will actually scare Fury." Gobber said, an empty bottle in his hand as Fury's snarl melted down to a pout. "You've got work to do. Come on now."

It didn't take many training sections with the group to realize that while Fury might have been the leader of his pack, no one said no to Gobber. He was the elder of their group and when it came to keeping them from slacking off he always kept a tight lease on them.

Not without a long sigh did Fury slide off of Aster's lap, standing on his feet as Gobber smirked at him in triumph before he turned back to continue teaching the rest of them.

"Sorry Aster."

Aster waved his apology off with a smile over his lips. "Think nothing of it Fury." He said, earning himself a sheepish smile from the Alpha. "Although I was wondering." He continued, getting to his feet as Fury stopped to face him again. "Would you like to come over to our house after you're done? You know, come over for dinner?"

"He would love to!" Jack shouted over, both of their eyes widening as they snapped over to stare at the rest of the group.

Jack was grinning his toothily little smile, holding a trapped and flushing Hiccup in his arms with his chin resting on top of the boy's head.

"Cutiepie is coming over too!"

"Jack!" Hiccup squeaked, his whole face going bright red as he tried to dislodge himself from Jack's octopus like grip.

"Dear gods, you guys and your nicknames." Fury mumbled, giving a roll of his eyes as he turned back to face Aster. A genuine smile across his features and Aster felt the breath being taken from his lungs as he waited to see what he was going to say. "We would love to Aster. Thank you."

(***)

"So, this will be your first time over at his house, right?" Meatlug said, sorting through the different shirts he had while Barf and Belch did his hair.

"Uh, ya, I guess it will be." Fury mumbled, trying to whack away the invasive hands only to have Barf smack them down.

"Stop it, we're trying to create a look here."

Giving up with a huff he allowed them to do whatever it was they were doing as he turned his attention to look at the ones who were raiding his closet.

"No, we can't use that one." Hookfang muttered with a shake of his head as he held a pair of jeans in his hands. "The color of the shirt doesn't go with the stitching of the pants."

"Then why don't you grab another pair of pants?" Meatlug questioned, holding out the shirt before her. "This shirt makes his eyes pop."

"Ya, but his ass looks the best in these jeans." Hook said, and Fury could feel his face going bright red as he fought the urge to drop his head into his hands.

"Oh, yes, okay. What about...this one?"

"Perfect."

"Fury."

Peering at the one who had called for his attention through the corner of his eyes so as not to upset the twins, Fury met Storm's gaze.

"Now remember, Hiccup's also going to be there, so I don't think that you and Aster should have 'to much' fun tonight. We all know that you're not very quiet."

"Oh my gods." This time Fury did groan, dropping his steaming face into his hands and earning himself a set of enraged squeals from the twins before they pulled his head back up.

"Do we really have to do this guys? I mean I'm completely capable of getting myself ready."

"In more ways than one." Hookfang smirked, excepting a no look high five from Belch before he and Meatlug placed the clothes on the bed, purposely ignore the pure rage that was seeping from their leader.

"You skipped out on us last time." Storm said, sliding in to sit next to him as she too helped to mess with his hair. "Getting each other ready for dates is not something you skip out on."

"I hope the kids don't pick up on this practice." Fury muttered lowly to himself as the twins snickered.

"Are you kidding? They're doing the same thing to Hic as we speak."

From down the hall Hiccup squirmed against the chair he was tied to as Tuff and Snotlout looked him over.

"I don't know. I think we should go more for the 'just rolled out of bed look'." Snoutlout said, his arms crossed as his eyes narrowed down at the frowning male in front of him while Tuffnut scoffed.

"No, no. That's Jack's look. I think the 'wholesome school boy' is more Hic's thing. Frosty will eat that up."

"Do you think that we should match his shoes too?" Fishlegs questioned Astrid from his closet, the blond stopping in her search for pants as she turned to her partner in crime.

"Definitely. It'll pull the whole thing together. Here, if we use this and that we can even match it with his hair."

"Oh! That's perfect!"

"Okay Hic! I managed to find Barf's book on Kamasutra!" Ruff grinned as she burst into the room holding up a giant hardcovered book.

"Oh for the love of the gods Ruffnut no!"

Back in Fury's room Storm's nose twitched, and Fury arched a brow at her as she pulled back slightly, shooting him a funny look. She leaned in again, sniffing close to his throat before she pulled away, her lips pursed and her gaze narrowed.

"Are you..? Did Aster scent you?"

Everyone came to a stop, turning to face the two of them as all conversation ceased.

Without thinking twice about it Fury's hand raised up to his neck, his fingers trailing up to the space just behind his ear as his stomach flipped. He'd thought that maybe Aster had earlier, but he'd known that it couldn't have really been possible, but if Storm was smelling it too...

"I...guess so." He mumbled, dropping his hand into his lap as he turned his full attention to her. "But it doesn't make sense."

"No." Hookfang agreed, walking over to the two and leaning in close to his Alpha.

Fury fought to stay still as Hook took a few sniffs at his throat, his lips pulling back in a small snarl before he pulled away.

"What the hell? Human's aren't supposed to be able to do that." He grumbled, his bright golden eyes narrowing sharply as Fury's brows furrowed together while he thought.

Sure, when he'd thought that Jack might have still been human, he'd been willing to accept that the boy might have been leaving a bit of a scent on Hiccup just from being so close and maybe just having a strong smell, but Aster wasn't like that. It wasn't the scent of a growing child. Aster's normal scent was of something store bought, some type of minty human body wash, which, while it wasn't bad, had nothing on the scent that he'd left behind, smelling or wild flowers, pine, and freshly turned soil. Had nothing on the dominating possessive scent of an alpha.

The rest of the group shared collective glances while Fury tried to think. It wouldn't make any sense, unless Aster was a Shifter too, but he couldn't have been. There was no way that he would have hid it from Jack, there would have been no way that Jack wouldn't have known, and even if they did both know and this was all some type of trick or something, there was no way that either of them would have reacted the way that they did to Fury's choices if they'd both been aware. There would have been no reason for Aster to take such a long time getting use to their shifted forms if he had one too.

"It's like he stamped a big fat 'mine' right on you." Barf said, taking a sniff at him too before Fury managed to push him away and gain some more of his personal space.

He was starting to get annoyed with all the invasive noses getting a little to close.

"You don't think...?"

"I don't know what to make of it." Fury muttered, interrupting Meatlug as he tried to rub the scent off of his skin if only to make the rest of his group a little more at ease. "I guess we're all just going to have to watch him and see what happens."

"Fury..." Hook mumbled, his body already tensing as Fury snapped his gaze over to him. "Just... be careful tonight okay?"

For a moment Fury just stared at his friend. Honestly he'd expected Hookfang to be the one growling about how he shouldn't go. About how they should all instead march over to Aster's place and demand an explanation.

Maybe they were all thinking to much about it. Maybe Aster had... well, he couldn't really think of anything right now, but it must have just been some sort of misunderstanding.

Turning his attention back the Firestarter of their group Fury gave a curt nod of his head.

"I will."


	24. Chapter 24

Do You Believe In Magic

Chapter 24

"Hiccup!"

Fury wasn't ashamed to acknowledge that he jumped slightly at the sudden shout the moment that the door was opened.

Hiccup didn't even get to say anything before he was scooped up, trapped in a tight hug as he was lifted off his feet before Jack dragged him back into the house.

"I'm so glad that you're here! Aster's still making dinner so there's still some time for us to play while we wait!"

"With the door open!" Aster called, his voice coming from somewhere in the house as Fury peered inside, awkwardly stepping onto the mat once he was inside.

"Buzz kill!" Jack yelled back at his brother, sticking his tongue out at him through a doorway while Fury kicked off his shoes.

He wasn't really sure about what he was supposed to do here, but this place was Aster's and it left him feeling just a little out of his element to be in a territory that wasn't his. As his eyes glanced around the thin entrance, he spied another matt with a few pairs of shoes littered on it, easily knocking his own footwear over to join them before he turned to look around the area.

There were a few pictures in the halls. One of Aster and his parents, the next of Jack and his parents, and then the rest were all of him and Jack, and occasionally a much larger male with white hair and a long white bread. Fury stopped at one of those, tilting his head at the man in the photo and wondering why he got such a strange vibe from him. Did this guy go parading around as Santa Klas during the winter months? Really, he wouldn't be surprised to hear that he did.

Giving a quick whiff around the area his gaze narrowed. He didn't smell anything. Nothing that would have marked this area as Aster's. It smelled nice, cod and honey and fresh veggies filling the air around him and making his mouth water, but no scent that would say that this was Aster's area.

That alone was enough to make him ease up a little, his shoulders relaxing as Aster popped out from the doorway on his left, a large bowl in hand and a smile on his face.

"Fury, hey." He said, leaning in and placing a light kiss to the others cheek before he ducked back into the kitchen. "Sorry I wasn't at the door, I had to make sure to pull the mixed veggies out."

"It's fine," Fury said, following him into the quaint kitchen, an involuntary smile tugging at his lips. "Need help with anything?"

Well," Aster said, a smirk coming to his face as he held out the bowl, "if you would be a doll and just keep stirring this for me Baby Cakes?"

A deadpanned stare took over his face as he stood there. Without a second thought he gave the other a crude gesture with his hand but he still did snatch up the bowl and get to work. Aster chuckled at his antics, giving a small shake of his head before he turned back to his next task at hand.

While he was distracted Fury took his time in watching him. There was nothing... well, shifter like about Aster. Not that Fury could see anyways, and he'd grown up in a large family of them. He stirred absently at the mixture in the bowl, keeping an ear out for Jack and Hiccup while he took a glance around the kitchen, trying to see if he could find even one thing out of place. Turning his attention back to the male who was now basing the fish in the oven he looked him up and down again.

Just what on earth was it that he was supposed to be looking for?

"Alright. That should just take about another twenty minutes." Aster said, a smile on his face as he rested his hands on his hips. "So, what do you want to do while we wait?"

"Can I see your room?"

Fury didn't think through the implications of his words before they were out of his mouth. It was only once Aster's face slackened with a look of shock that his face lit up bright red, one of his hands shooting out to wave out before him.

"No, no! It's not for the reason-! I just..um..."

A smirk slid to Aster's face, only making Fury's heat up even more while he turned away from the other and began stirring the mix vigorously. What the hell was he even mixing? Peering down at the bowl in his hands he glared at it as if it would help him to settle his embarrassment. He jumped when a pair of strong arms snaked around his waist, pulling him tightly against a chest that felt as if it was made of stone wrapped in Egyptian cotton.

"Didn't think you'd be so forward." He purred, nuzzling behind Fury's ear and down his throat.

Damnit, he was doing it again. Was he even aware of it?

The smell of wild flowers and dirt wrapped around his mind, making his senses fuzzy and his head feel like it was going to spin. He liked it, it felt safe and secure, protective in a way that only an Alpha's scent could. It was giving him the same effect that he had on his own group when Fury had placed his scent on his pack, keeping them safe from the older members until they had broken off. It was strange, experiencing the effects for the first time. Strange, but not in a bad way.

"That's not what I meant." Fury mumbled, feeling slightly better when Aster pulled away with a chuckle, as if his brain was fully back online while Aster moved until he was in front of the smaller male. "I just..."

Wanted to see if maybe there was anything that would give him away for being a shifter? But honestly other than Aster really shifting there was nothing that he could think of. Just what on earth was he looking for? Was he hoping that maybe in Aster's personal space he would have left out something that would give him away? But he wasn't acting like he had anything to hide...

Ugh. This just wasn't easy...

"Is it like some sort of Shifter thing?"

Aster's question made him snap his head up, his eyes wide as he wondered if maybe the guy could read minds or something. When he received an arch brow in return for his look he quickly placed the bowl on the counter so that he could cross his arms, holding his chin high to showcase his Alpha dominance.

"And if it was?"

Aster just snickered at him, as if he was only amused and nothing else. Fury scowled, but only for a short moment before his eyes dropped to the side and his teeth came out to worry at his bottom lip.

"It... might be something like that." He muttered, and honestly, he wasn't really far off from the truth.

Aster only continued to laugh lightly at him, wrapping an arm around Fury's waist as he lead him further into the house.

"I figured as much. Astrid let Jack borrow a book about shifters and Jack let me read it as well." Aster admitted, and Fury honestly was a little surprised that Jack would ever bother reading a book. While Hiccup never had a problem with it, Jack just didn't seem like the type. "You guys are way more territorial than I thought, and I already thought that you all had weird territory type rules."

Fury could do nothing other than chuckle along with him nervously. Honestly Aster wasn't even really that far off. It was a normal practice for them to make sure that the areas of their mates were always surrounded by the higher ranking of the two, but it was just to keep them safe from others and a warning not to mess with them or else one better be prepared to suffer the wrath of their mates.

Not that he had really chosen Aster as his mate, not yet anyways. The guy had a problem with moving in with them, the last thing Fury wanted to do was freak him out by telling him that's what he was hoping for.

So, he stayed quiet, letting Aster believe whatever he wanted as long as he got to get inside the room and check it out. As they walked down the short hall, just pass the living room and next to the tiny hall that lead to the front door, Fury quickly took in his surroundings.

There were two doors on the left, one on the right. One of the ones on the left was wide open, Hiccup and Jack's voices floating from inside as they passed by to see the two sitting on Jack's bed, game controllers in their hands and looks of pure concentration on their faces while their eyes were glued to the TV. Fury was honestly shocked to see just how clean Jack's room was. Was it always like that or did he make sure that it was spotless just to impress his brother?

Hm, maybe Jack wouldn't be so bad for him if he was willing to put in some effort. Fury was going to have to keep an eye on them and see how it was going along. Admittedly he didn't really have many points to hold against Jack. The kid was oddly good for his brother.

Once they passed the room Fury's eyes snapped to the second door, feeling an odd tightening in his stomach as they drew closer.

He didn't know why he was so nervous. Really if Aster turned out to be a shifter what was wrong with that? Other than the fact that it meant that he was keeping it from them for some reason. If so though than why would he do that? Could he have somehow known that Fury and his group were going to come here? Was this some sort of trap or trick? Was he just trying to get them all to trust them so that they could take them out later? Or take over? What if Hookfang was right? What if Fury was just blinded and wasn't thinking clearly?

The hand tightening on his side drew his attention back, making his give a small shake of his head as he turned to look up at the questioning green orbs that stared back down at him.

"You okay Fury? You know you didn't have to come if it makes you uncomfortable. I don't want you to feel obligated to..."

"No, I... sorry Aster I'm just, sorry. My minds just... everywhere."

The mumblings sounded pathetic, even to him, but he didn't really have anything better.

Shit, he should have come up with a better plan than this.

Aster just gave a nod of his head accompanied by a small hum as he grabbed a hold of the handle and pushed his door open. The small push at his lower back was all the prompting that Fury needed to walk inside, his eyes scanning around the room slowly as if he was sizing up a new piece of his own territory.

It wasn't claimed. If there was one place that a shifter always claimed, regardless of rank, it was their room. It was the one place that was all their own. The only place that no one other than a mate was allowed to dominate them in. The place where they were able to unwind and feel the safest without the protection of their pack leader.

But Aster was human, and the practice was lost on him.

A huge weight felt as if it was taken off of Fury's shoulders as he let out a long breath he hadn't realized that he was holding in.

Truly looking around the room now, Fury admired the area. It was small, but it was large enough to fit in a queen size bed and a simple dresser while leaving enough room for it to be comfortable. He liked the warm colors that Aster had chosen too, it gave the whole room a warm type of feeling, the browns and greens reminding him of the forest and comforting him in a way that he didn't think it would. On the dresser there were only a few things. A book, a journal, and a framed photo of him and Jack, both of them smiling widely at the camera with ice cream in their hands.

It was simple, and open and suited his m... Aster well.

Maybe Aster just had some shifter in his bloodline. A pass relative maybe married a human. It wasn't a normal practice, but it happened, Fury being with Aster now proved that. If it was, then it would have been very far back, giving him no real abilities, but allowing him to do something as simple as claiming someone of his interest. If that was the case than Fury was going to have to do some research on Aster's family tree.

But later.

Right now, he was interested in something else.

Without bothering to ask if it was okay Fury flopped onto his bed, stretching his arms out and rolling over on it a few times before he rolled over on his back, his arms stretched over him as he rubbed his head back against the sheets.

"Are you... claiming my bed?" Aster asked, his tone amused as Fury lifted his head up to look at him.

"Maybe." He said, a small smirk twisting up the corners of his lips as the bigger male quietly closed the door.

"Do I have to ask permission to join you?"

Fury's smirk grew wider as he sat up on his elbows, his stomach flipping as Aster's eyes dragged up and down him appreciatively.

"It's still your room. Do what you'd like." Fury purred, the words simply being to tease the other.

The heated look he got in return stroked at his core, making the breath catch in his lungs. Almost before he could blink Aster was on him, hovering over him and so close Fury could feel the gently caress of his warm breath across his lips. A large hand came up, a thumb softly running over the curve of his cheek, fingers trailing down his face to the dip in his throat following the curve of his neck until they reached the firmness of his collar bone, leaving a path of liquid fire in their wake that set Fury's nerves alight.

"You shouldn't tell me that Fury." Aster said, his voice hushed, as if he didn't want the very air around them to hear the words that were only meant for the one underneath him. "There's a number of things I would like to do to you right now."

His words alone were enough to make a shiver run down Fury's spine, his back arching involuntarily in hopes to bring them both just a little bit closer.

His reaction shocked even himself. His gaze was wide, his footing unsure in this situation. He was used to being the one calling all the shots. Even when he'd been with...

Pushing the thought of the other from his mind Fury's lips turned up at the corners, a challenge dancing behind his eyes as he gave a slight tilt of his head. Confidant till the end, even if he wasn't quite sure just what game he was playing.

"Oh really?" His voice was a low coo, his smaller hands reaching up to cupped Aster's face sweetly, lulling him into a false sense of security. "Then I think there's just one thing you should know Aster."

His voice was a mere whisper, spoken against lips that brushed with every other word. Aster gave a small hum, his eyes half lidded as his free hand played with the edge of Fury's shirt.

"What's that?" He mumbled, his patience clearly growing thin the more that Fury kept their lips from meeting in a real kiss.

Suddenly, before the bigger male could blink, Fury shoved him, rolling them over until he was on top, both of Aster's thick wrists being held in his own hands and pinned to the bed while a coy grin slid over his face.

"I don't really like making anything easy."

Aster just blinked at the ceiling for a moment, his mind apparently needing to have some time to understand what the hell had just happened. Fury didn't mind though, simply chuckling at his shock and content enough with straddling the others waist.

When he figured that he'd given Aster enough time to recover, he allowed his eyes to drop to the thick, strong neck of the other. He bit down on his bottom lip, his fangs pressing just a little bit harder than was truly comfortable as his shifter instincts tugged at him.

He wanted for nothing more than to mark him, claiming Aster as his own, sinking his teeth into his throat and leaving his scent permanently within the other. He wasn't even sure why. They hadn't really known each other all that long, shit had it really only been about a month? But...

There was something inside of him that was pushing him to do it, as if there was some type of invisible cord trying to pull them together and as much as he would have loved nothing more to do than to give into it there was no way he would ever unless Aster knew just what he was getting himself into.

Maybe later, when Aster knew more about his kind, when he understood the full meaning behind the action and what it would lead to. Maybe than would he lay claim to his mate.

Hm, yes. He liked that word when applied to the one beneath him.

So instead, Fury did the next best thing, licking a long trail from the base of Aster's throat all the way up to behind his ear, his sharp teeth leaving playful nips as he left his scent behind on him. Sure, it wasn't permanent, and sure it would probably fade by tomorrow, but for now it was fine.

"Well, I've always loved a challenge." Aster said, the breath caressing Fury's ear and down his neck, forcing him to close his eyes for a moment to try and help sort his scattered thoughts.

"I suppose this means game on than." Fury purred, lifting his head up just enough to be able to look into Aster's eyes as he spoke.

The look in Aster's eyes, the predatory smirk across his lips, Fury could feel his whole body tensing, his heart stuttering for a split moment that pulled the air from his lungs and sent what felt like a lightning bolt straight to his core. The meaning, the intent and the promises behind that one look was enough to make his mouth go dry and his brain cut out.

In his stunned state it was all too easy for Aster to get his hands free, for him to sit up, forcing Fury to slid back until he was sitting in his lap, the large hands on his hips keeping him in place as well as leaving a burning feeling through his clothes.

His body jumped, a small yelp slipping passed his lips when he was pulled tightly against the others firm body, his heart in his throat as Aster's lips brushed over his ear.

"You have no idea what you've just gotten yourself into Fury."

Fury moaned. Honest to the gods above actually moaned at the words that were growled into his skin. Aster hadn't even really done anything yet but his words alone were enough to leave him wanting more, to derail his thoughts completely and have him bite down on his lip hard to try and keep any other sound from slipping out.

"I'm going to completely wreck you." Large hands slipped under his shirt, trailing like liquid fire over his back, feeling every notch in his spine, every scar that he'd ever collected, his skin strangely sensitive and his mind in a hazy as he panted against Aster's throat. "By the time I'm done with you, you won't even remember your own name. Just mine, and you'll say it over, and over again."

Fury didn't even flinch, didn't even blink at the teeth that grazed at his neck, at the fangs that lightly scrapped over his flesh, making his eyes roll back as his hands clutched at the fabric of Aster's shirt, not really sure when he'd grabbed ahold of it in the first place. Aster's scent was everywhere, making him dizzy and compliance, his senses only heightened to feel every touch and whispered breath. He whined, long and loud when the fangs bit down, pressing into his skin almost to the breaking point, but not quite. Pleasure coursed through his body in waves as the claws at his back suddenly dragged down, making him arch sharply into the heat as the pain blurred together with the high, a sharp gasped followed by heavy panting breath the only thing that he could manage.

And then Aster stood up.

Fury yelped, only not being dropped on his ass because of the strong hold that Aster had on his hips. The bigger male chuckled, allowing Fury the time he needed to figure out how to get his feet back under him again, to figure out how they worked again, even if they were a little shaky.

Confused, and thrown off balance as his mind tried to return to working order, Fury gave a shake of his head before glaring up at the other.

"Aw, don't look at me like that." Aster snickered. His fingers slipped under Fury's chin, forcing him to hold his gaze as the shorter of the two just continued to glare at him. "Hiccup and Jack are in the next room, and when we do this, I'm going to make you scream."

Fury tried to swallow passed his dry throat, a quick kiss to his lips being the last of Aster's touch as he pulled away, walking back to the door of his room.

"Take your time if you need it. I've got to finish setting up dinner."

The smirk over his face showed just how much he knew Fury needed time to settle himself again. The bastard. Fury growled in return, flipping him off before Aster could close the door behind him, his soft laughter a slight muffle behind the door.

Alone, he dropped himself back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling but not seeing anything as he tried to get his heart back under his control. He growled, his frustration coming up with his hands as he made a motion to strangle the air above him, eventually rolling over and grabbing a hold of one of Aster's plush pillows to scream into.

He bit it, fangs sinking all to easily into the material as his claws ripped the soft fabric to shreds, not satisfied until there were feathers flying everywhere in the room and the cloth was reduced to nothing, helping to settle his irritation.

Served Aster right, the dick.

...

Fury would buy him a new one tomorrow.


	25. Chapter 25

Do You Believe In Magic

Chapter 25

Dinner had been a long, and extremely awkward, affair.

While Aster couldn't tell that anything was different, the other two at the table definitely knew what had been going on before they'd all been called down. Fury pretty much reeked of Aster's scent, and from the unimpressed, flat stare that Jack gave him all night long, he could tell that the Skrill shifter wasn't too happy with what had gone on between the two.

Not that he could really blame the boy considering that Fury would have chased Jack half way around the world if he'd even thought of doing something to Hiccup like Aster had done to him, but still. Hiccup didn't seem to think that there was anything wrong with it, but he never once dropped his shit eating grin or the smirk and knowing gaze that he shot his brother whenever Aster wasn't looking.

Fury was so going to make him run extra laps for that...

But all in all, it hadn't really been a bad night either.

They'd all had fun, and the food had been amazing to say the least. There was no doubt in Fury's mind that Aster's talents far outshined his own when it came to the kitchen, whether he was baking or cooking. After dinner they had all cleared the table and waited for the dessert to cool, munching on cinnamon cookies while they played a game of spoons together.

Although seeing just how competitive Jack and Aster got with one another was much more interesting to witness than playing the actual game. He was surprised that their house was still in one piece.

When the brothers had offered to walk them home, Hiccup had been the one to refuse politely, ushering Fury out of the door before he could object much to it and barely allowing him to leave with a wave. Not that Fury couldn't see what Hic was up to but it felt like a little bit of a jab at his pride to be able to be read so easily. No doubt Hiccup was fully aware that Fury would have had every intent to stay behind and 'sleep over' if Aster would have asked.

The cold winds biting at his cheeks now helped to keep down the blush that had taken up permanent residence on his face as he fisted his hands inside the large pockets of his jacket.

Neither of them had spoken since they left, both content enough to be silent for now and lost in their own thoughts. Fury's gaze was to the sky, admiring the stars and the darkness of the world above him. Even the few clouds that floated around were beautifully highlighted, the full moon bathing them and the world in a soft, white glow.

Just like that his good mood was shattered, a sudden tightness taken over his chest and making it difficult to breath. His head snapped downwards, tears burning at his eyes so swiftly that he barely had time to give a quick wipe to his eyes before they fell.

His sudden motion caught Hiccup's attention, his little brother frowning up at him from the corner of his eye, but wisely staying silent.

It was stupid. He'd just had an amazing night, and yet, his heart still stung over something as stupidly simple as the sky. He just, he missed it, more than he could ever manage to express. He was happy with Aster, he loved being with him and spending time with him, but there would always be a place in his heart that would be empty, that would be left a gaping hole, open and forever bleeding with phantom pain.

As a shifter nothing could ever compare to the feeling, the absolute delight, of soaring through the skies, wild and free.

And he would never experience it again.

"So... I thought that you didn't like cinnamon?"

Fury appreciated the change of the unspoken topic, giving a shake of his head to try and help sort his thoughts before he answered.

"Normally I don't, but it was surprisingly really good." He admitted, forcing a smile to his lips as he shoved his hands back into his pockets, hoping to hide their shaking before Hiccup noticed. "Did you have fun?"

He was sure it was more for his benefit than Hiccup's own as he went into a colorful story about how much he just dominated Jack in the game that they had been playing. Fury could feel the corners of his lips lift up in a small sort of smile the more that the boy spoke. Slowly the depression eating away at his mind subsided, fading to the background for now as he threw an arm around Hiccup's shoulders, leaning into his brother slightly as he ran his hand over his face.

"Sounds like you had a lot of fun." He said, his eyes narrowing at the small smirk that slid over his brother's face. "What?"

"Well, it just seems like you had a lot of fun too."

Fury growled, placing a hand over his brother's face and shoving him away for a second, earning a laugh from the boy as he danced around behind his brother and popped up on his other side.

"Oh, come on. Like we didn't hear pretty much everything."

Fury's face was hot enough to warm anyone close to him, or cook an entire meal on. Hiccup's laughter flittered into the air, evil and childish all at once. Hiccup always seemed so shy whenever he was meeting with others, always seemed so polite and submissive when he was in the company of the other shifters and humans. It seemed that the only one who really got to see just what a little shit he was, was Fury.

He almost felt bad for Jack.

"'Take your time if you need it.'"

Fury lunged at his brother, the boy just skittering out of his reach with a snicker.

"Aw come on! I think it's cute!" Hiccup said, holding his hands up with a large grin on his face as he continued backing away from his older brother. "I mean I know you've teased him a lot, maybe this is like his form of pay back."

He thought that they'd just noticed because of the smell. To know that they could have pretty much heard everything that they said to each other... Thank god Aster didn't go any further, Fury never would have been able to live that down. The next time that they decided to do anything it was going to be in Fury's room.

Sound proof walls were a nice thing to have, and a must when there were a bunch of sharp eared shifters around.

"Well I just hope that Jack doesn't have his brother's suave." Fury muttered.

He didn't like the smile that fell across Hiccup's face a moment later.

"Oh, he doesn't, but I do."

"Hiccup!"

Hiccup ran, laughing loudly as Fury chased him down the street, the dark thoughts that had invaded his mind completely gone.


	26. Chapter 26

Do You Believe In Magic

Chapter 26

"So, I should be feeding him more fish?"

When Meatlug gave a nod of her head, Aster quickly jotted it down in his notebook.

"Also, you might want to take him out more to allow him to stretch his wings. Jack isn't weak by any means, but his maneuvers are sloppy and he doesn't last very long in the air."

"So, he's lacking stamina as well?" Aster asked, pulling his eyes away from the book to look up at Stormfly.

"It's what I've noticed," Storm said, before turning to the other beside her, "is there anything else that you can think of?"

Meatlug narrowed her brows in thought, her eyes glancing over at Jack from where she sat as if she was evaluating him right at this moment. Aster in turn took a look over at his brother, observing his shifted form as he and Hiccup roughhoused together.

Something in Aster's mind started to break down everything at he was seeing. Looking at the way that Jack moved and how well he defended himself from the playful attacks. He wasn't using his claws enough, using the pads of his feet more and leading into seriously adding to his reaction time. His wings seemed a little awkward too, as if he wasn't aware that he could use them to pull him forward with the claws on each one. He would just flap them around uselessly, as if they were his human arms rather than the interchangeable wings that could move him along the ground as well as they could in the air. That and he was being too heavy, not light enough on his feet to keep up with Hic's speed and easily being knocked over and spun around continuously.

But Aster didn't know anything about shifters, how on earth did he know about any of this?

Shock settled over him as he pulled his gaze away, staring down blankly at the book set out before him. It seemed that ever since these shifters had shown up a lot had been going on that he couldn't understand. Maybe he should talk to North about this? Or Jack. Would either of them be able to figure it out? Aster wasn't like these guys, he'd never seen dragons before, so how on earth was he always able to figure out what they were doing wrong and what their weakness were? How did he know just which places to strike and what would leave them the most vulnerable? Why did he even care? What was he going to use it for?

"You know I think as long as Jack keeps practicing than he should be okay with everything else. He'll just gradually get better as time goes on."

Aster gave a nod to acknowledge Meatlug's words, his eyes trailing back over to his brother as Hiccup once again pinned him. Pulling his eyes away from his brother he allowed them to move over to Fury, who was standing just a few feet away from the two his attention on Astrid and Snotlout before them as they sparred with each other, shouting out weak spots and openings for both sides.

He always seemed so different when he was here. More dominating and in charge. His mere presence straightening everyone out and demanding obedience from his members. While he'd seen them all poke fun at each other before, and Fury never quiet escaped it, he was sure that they're were lines that they would cross with each other that they would never even utter around him.

It made him wonder, his thoughts straying away from the ones in front of him, if there had ever been a time where Fury had put an unruly member back in their place. Just what were his discipline methods? What did Alphas do at assert their dominance over their packs? What made them the Alphas? Did they all fight for the position or were they born into? Fury had mentioned at one point on how Jack would end up becoming an Alpha when he was out of his juvenile stage, but what made him that way? Could he pick that or not? Was Jack eventually going to fight Fury for the position? Would he eventually have to leave to start his own group? Could there be more than one Alpha in a group without it causing complications?

These thoughts had never occurred to Aster before, they'd never had a reason to, but now he couldn't help but feel a burning need to know.

"Aster?"

He looked over at Storm, his face highlighting a bright red at the smirk over her lips and the knowing smile over Meatlug's face.

"Do we have your attention now loverboy?"

"Ha ha." He deadpanned, giving the girls a long look while they snickered at him.

"Anyways, back to Jack..."

(***)

"Owowowow." Jack hissed as Aster gently pressed a cold cloth to his slightly swollen cheek.

Aster only chuckled, earning himself a pout from his baby brother as Jack sulked on his seat.

"It's not funny Aster." He mumbled, lifting up his arm to rub at the bandages and Band-Aids there.

"Jack, you ran smack dap into a tree and dropped like a rock, it's a little funny."

Granted if he'd been hurt more than a few scrapes and bruises, Aster would have been having a fit, but for the most part his brother was okay and that left his mistake as free game for Aster to poke fun at.

"I know!" The boy whined, bringing his hands up to cover his face, making it nearly impossible for Aster to continue working. "Right in front of Hiccup and everyone else too!"

"You know I'm sure they all had problems with these sorts of things when they first started off too." Aster said, hoping to make the boy feel just a little bit better.

Jack growled, sliding his hands down his face until he could glare at Aster from the spaces between his fingers.

"Hiccup just got his and he's already way better than me." He grumbled lowly, dropping his arms in defeat, allowing Aster to go back to work on a cut on his other cheek.

"Hiccup grew up in a home of shifters and the kid picks up on things just by watching them. I'm sure he understands."

Aster felt bad at his own words, realizing just how far behind Jack was just because he'd been too afraid of what might happen to him if Aster ever found out. In a way it was all his fault that Jack felt like he didn't match up to the rest of them, felt that he was behind and that they would eventually mock him or leave him behind.

Sucking in his teeth his eyes glanced over to the window, realizing just how dark it was outside. If he and Jack went out into the woods, no one would see them.

"Hey," a small smile was on his lips as Jack's eyes lifted from his hands and up to meet Aster's gaze, "why don't we go out now and practice a bit more?"

The sudden light in his brother's eyes was indescribable, Aster didn't think that he'd ever seen him look so happy. Any pain that he'd been feeling was brushed to the side as he jumped off his chair, grabbing at Aster's wrist and yanking him off of his as well.

"Really? You don't mind?"

Smiling, Aster reached out to ruffle his brother's hair. "Of course. I've been with you guys for the past few weeks have I not?"

"Well ya," any happiness that had been over Jack's face was gone as he pulled back, his arms coming up to cross over his chest as he looked away to the side. "I just figured that you felt safer being around me when Fury was there to protect you."

Aster couldn't help but blink down owlishly at his brother. Had he done anything to suggest that? Had he said anything to make him feel that way? Or was Jack just reading into something that wasn't there?

Either way he supposed that it didn't really matter. He was going to have to set the boy straight about this.

"Jack," reaching out for him again he placed a large, but gentle hand on his shoulder, waiting until the boy looked up at him before he bothered to continue. "Find out what you were was...shocking, but it didn't make me afraid of you. And why on earth would you think that Fury of all people would protect me? If anything, I'm pretty sure half the time he wants to kick my ass."

Jack gave a small chuckle, the sound sort and soft as he pushed back against Aster's hand with his shoulder.

"When we joined their pack Fury became our Alpha, it's his job to make sure that every member is protected." Jack explained, while Aster tucked that information away for later. Fury had mentioned something like that but he figured that it was only for things outside of their group, he had no idea that it was inside the group too. "Besides, I don't think he'd be so hard on you during training if you didn't tease him so much. It's not nice to do that to your mate Aster."

"Wait, what?"

"Come on, let go." Jack ignored him, grabbing a hold of Aster's wrist again and pulling him towards the door without another word on the subject.

(***)

"Okay, so your problems," Aster said as he took a look down at the notes in his book that he'd written out earlier. "You're speed slow, your reaction times are terrible, you're not use to your dragon form at all so you don't know just how to use it."

"Jeez, please, don't hold back for my sake." Jack muttered, his shoulders slumped as he frowned up at his brother.

"You want to get better?" Aster questioned, arching a brow at him from over his book. "We've got to strengthen your weakness first."

Jack let out a long sigh, his head dropping back as mist appeared in front of his mouth from the chill outside.

"Finnnnne."

Unable to help but smirk at the boy's misery, Aster snapped his book shut, the sharp noise making Jack gulp as his back went ramrod straight.

"Alright, let's get started. I want you to shift first."

Jack eyed him wearily for a moment, as if he didn't know if it was okay to really shift in front of his brother when they were alone, as if he'd thought that Aster would faint or attack him or something. So, Aster just waited, smiling at his brother easily as he leaned back against a tree, waiting until he was comfortable enough to switch into dragon form.

It took a few long, silent moments, but Jack eventually took in a deep breath, shaking out his limbs before he sucked in his lips. His eyes darted over once more to Aster, as if checking one final time, before he shifted.

Aster watched, the setting reminding him so much of the first time that he witnessed this that it nearly sent a chill down his spine. But this time, instead of fear filling him from seeing something his mind couldn't comprehend, he was filled with a sense of awe.

Admittedly he loved watching them shifting during training. It was fascinating to watch, and his mind couldn't help but wonder just how on earth it was possible. It didn't make any sense for their forms to change so much, that they could grow to three times their human size or larger. Now that he was thinking about it, if shifters fought with other shifters all of them time, did they all just wait patiently for them to finish their change? Or could they attack while they were shifting? Really, it would be the best time to attack, all of the vulnerable points having no protection against another shifters claws, teeth, or fire.

As Jack finished up, shaking his large head and stretching out his wings, Aster pushed himself away from the tree, walking up to his little brother with a smile.

"See, that wasn't so hard was it?" He chuckled, earning a strange rumbling coo from the boy.

He lifted his hand, coming to a halt a few inches away from laying his fingers on his scaly head.

Even though he'd been with the others for a while now, even though his own brother was one, Aster had never had the opportunity to touch one of them when they were like this, although the curiosity burned at him deeply. Would they feel soft and silky like a snake? Or would they feel drier? Rougher? Like the cracked lands in the desert? Yet, just reaching out and laying a hand on him without permission felt like it might have been passing some type of shifter line.

So, he just stood there, his hand hovering as his gaze moved over to lock with his brother's larger ones.

Jack made the choice for him, lowering his head and pressing it against Aster's hand firmly.

He was shocked, his eyes widening at the feeling of the scales underneath his fingers. It wasn't warm, he'd really thought it would have been, but there was a chill to the skin, a permanent bite that must have come from within the boy. The scales were smooth, not so much like he'd thought, but like tracing his fingers over ice, a sharp sting kissing his fingertips as they glided upwards to trail his fingers over the horns. The spikes felt like bone, which he guessed made sense, but they also shared the same type of cold as his skin, seeming to emanate from the inside.

"That's, this is amazing." Aster said, his voice a mere whisper as he slowly pulled his hand away.

For a moment he just looked down at his hand, still able to feel the biting chill even though he was no longer touching the others skin. He couldn't help but wonder, wonder if Fury would be that cold, if his skin would feel like ice, or if he would be warmer, if maybe the cold was something that was strictly Jack.

He was nearly knocked off his feet when Jack nudged him with his giant head, nearly pushing him right over. Just managing to catch himself he snickered, shoving back against his brother before he took a few steps back to give him some space.

"Okay, first things first," Aster said, pointing a finger down at the boy's feet, or really his claws. "You see, when you're outside, you need to use your claws, it will help you move faster and be able to take corners and sharp turns much better. But that's only on the ground, also, don't forget about the claws that you have on the ends of your wings." He muttered, his eyes darting up to the boy's hands...wings. "Try just moving around on the ground for a few minutes, see how fast you can dart between the trees okay?"

Jack growled lowly, more in thought than in aggression as he looked between all of his limbs. Aster watched as he dug his claws into the dirt, as he scratched at the ground and moved himself forward and back. He then turned to the trees, using his wings to climb up them, reaching a certain height before he let go, gliding back to the ground.

When he started to move around Aster carefully watched how he was moving, happy to see that he was trying to listen to his older brother's advice. He was actually moving slightly faster, not super fast, but he was going to have to have a lot more practice before he would be able to win any races against the others, even Hiccup.

Aster could still remember when he'd seen Hiccup's shifted form for the first time. He'd been shocked to see that he was missing one of his legs. He remembers that Fury had mentioned it, but the reality of it hadn't sunken in until he'd seen it. Honestly, he'd thought that it would make to boy slower, or awkward in his shifted form, but Hic never seemed to have a problem keeping up with anyone, and he was still one of the fasted when it came to racing. Aster couldn't even say that the others were going easy on him, when Jack had tried to go easy on him Hiccup had responded by thoroughly kicking his ass in every bit of training they had done that day.

Maybe someday though they could have a rematch and Jack could give him a run for his money.

"Good job Jack!" He called out, not worried about the volume of his voice from when out here. "Now try racing around those clusters of trees!"

Jack responded with a garble, the sound echoing around the forest and pulling a smile at Aster's lips.

A rustle in the bushes drew his attention for a moment, but he didn't stare at it for long, he was in the woods after all, it was probably a squirrel or bunny.

"Don't forget to use your claws!"

This was nice. Jack seemed like he was having fun and Aster actually didn't mind being out here. He was going to have to take Jack out more often. He couldn't help but wonder if maybe there was a place that he could take all of them, if there was somewhere that they didn't have to hide and could fly freely into the skies without having to wait for the cover of darkness. Maybe someday he'd be able to find a place like that, only if the others wanted to of course. Maybe they didn't mind this type of life. Maybe they liked living along with humans and just going out at night.

He'd have to ask Fury about it tomorrow.

Another rustle and Aster's attention was drawn away from his brother once more.

Maybe it wasn't a rabbit. Maybe it was a racoon or a fisher or a wolf.

Turning to face the source of the noises Aster slowly walked over to them. If it was just a harmless animal, he would frighten it off just by approaching, if it was something a little more aggressive, he was going to have to hope that it didn't just jump out of the bushes and attack him.

The bushes rustled once again, more violently this time, as if whatever it was, was much larger than he was expecting.

Getting ready just in case a large wolf jumped out at him, Aster braced himself for whatever was hiding behind it.

He just had enough time to drop to the ground as a large, long beast soared out from underneath the covering of the bushes. His eyes widened as he quickly snapped his head around to look up at the thing that had nearly taken his head off.

That form, it looked familiar. Aster had seen it before. In the books that Jack had let him read when he got them from Astrid.

It was a Whispering Death.

And it was heading straight for Jack.

"JACK!"

His voice caught Jack's attention, alerting him of the danger seconds before the creature could run into him full force. Jack just had enough time to drop down from the tree he'd been clinging to, scrambling back on his feet as the stranger slammed hard into the place he'd been.

Without wasting another second Aster rolled on to his feet, running towards his brother as Jack sprinted towards him.

Whoever the other shifter was, they'd already recovered, letting out a monstrous roar as they collected themselves and coiled back, their long body wrapping tightly around the tree they'd run into.

Quicker than he could blink, the beast shot itself forward again, it's rows upon rows of teeth sinking into Jack's shoulder.

Aster's own cry was drowned out in Jack's roar of pain, the white of his eyes clear to see in his fear as something burned with an intense heat at Aster's chest.

The very ground around them shook as a bright light blinded them all, and a booming roar ripped through the forest.


	27. Chapter 27

Do You Believe In Magic

Chapter 27

Aster groaned as the world came back to him.

Everything hurt. His skin, his bones, the very air in his lungs. His whole body felt as if it had been stretched out and run over before being slammed into a wall. Just what on earth had he been doing last night that would...

"Jack!"

The scream was pulled from his lips as he shot up, already flying off of the bed and nearly crashing to the ground as his vision went white from the sudden movement. He went to reach for his bed, but his hand ran into a post instead, a shape hiss slipping from passed his tightly clenched teeth. Ignoring it he pushed on, having to fight with himself to stay balanced as the head rush made him want to fall right over.

This wasn't his room. In fact, he was in Fury's room, and he would have spent more time wondering why if his heart wasn't pounding in his chest.

Where was Jack? Was he okay? What had happened to him? If he was hurt, if he was missing, Aster would tear down the whole town looking for the sick, twisted son of a...

The door flew open when he was only a few feet away, Fury darting into the room and swiftly slamming it shut. Aster came to a halt, his brows drawing together as Fury blocked the door, an oddly serious look on his face that had the others heart dropping to his stomach.

"Oh god, is Jack..?"

"Jack's fine."

The confirmation did little to make him feel better. There was only so much that he could trust in Fury's words. He needed to see Jack for himself, needed to make sure that he was okay with his own two eyes.

"I need to see him."

Even as he started his way to the door, Fury wouldn't move.

"Get out of the way Fury."

"I need you to answer some questions first."

He still wouldn't budge. They were mere inches from one another, Aster glaring down at him and only receiving a snarl in return.

"You can ask me later." He hissed, making a move to forcibly remove the other from the door.

"No, we need to talk now." Fury snapped, shoving him back and squaring his shoulders, as if daring Aster to try again.

Aster reached for him, grabbing a hold of his upper arms and pulling him away from the door, their faces inches away from each other as he snarled openly in the face of the Hooligan's Alpha, receiving the same treatment as he offered.

"I like you Fury, but if I don't see Jack..."

"Aster!"

Jack burst through the door, Astrid hot on his heels as she tried to reach for him, to stop him. Before either of the older males could move Jack plowed right into his brother's side, early knocking him right over as he clung to him tightly. Ignoring the other two in the room, and the pain that exploded at every piece of contact, he turned his full attention to the boy in his arms. He moved his hands to Jack's face, forcing the boy to lift his head as he looked him over, making sure that there were no marks on him. The last thing he remembered was that, that... thing, had snapped its jaws on Jack's shoulder. Hearing his brother's roar out in pain. And then...he had no idea what happened after that.

But it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered right now was Jack.

"Are you okay?"

Jack nodded his head, clinging back to his brother quickly, but not quick enough for Aster to miss the tears shining in his eyes.

"What about your shoulder?"

"Meatlug and Fishlegs took care of that." Fury said, his voice drawing Aster's attention back to the others in the room. He was a little shocked to see not just Astrid, but Hiccup and Stormfly in the room as well. They must have been following close behind his brother.

Tucking Jack's head underneath his chin he held the boy tighter. He wasn't sure just what it was, but there was something very... off about Fury's whole pack today, or at least the ones that he could see. Something cold and calculating in their eyes as they stared him down, their bodies tense as if they were seconds away from jumping Aster and ripping him to pieces. It was unsettling to say the least, and had him tensing in turn as he returned his gaze to Fury.

"I'm guessing that thanks are in order." He mumbled, not feeling much to thankful but they had saved his brother after all, and him too no doubt.

Fury arched a brow at him, not accepting his thanks as he shifted on his feet. "For what?"

Aster felt his own brows pulling together, his confusion mixing with his irritation, making him want to snap out at the rest of them for acting so strangely.

"For saving me and Jack."

Just like that Fury's hostility dropped, Aster's words almost having a physical effect on him as if he'd been shoved back. Everyone in the room shared a look between them, Fury being quick to recover as any tension or aggression that he had faded to something softer.

"Aster, we didn't... Jack brought you here." Fury said, his words appearing to have been choose carefully, but still making no sense.

Jack shifted in his arms, pulling away from his brother as he stood before Aster, his head tilted slightly as he looked up at him with bright blue eyes.

"Do you not remember?" Jack asked, his words making about just as much sense as Fury's had.

"The last thing I remember is seeing that... actually who the hell was that? I thought you guys were the only ones here."

Now that he remembered, it was a little odd that there had been a Whispering Death lurking around. If what he understood about shifters was true, then there weren't supposed to be any in this area. Fury's group had claimed the territory and from what he'd heard from North and Jack no one should have been stupid enough to mess with the Hooligans. So, what on earth was that thing doing here? Why the hell would it have targeted his brother? Was there something that Fury wasn't telling them? Were there going to be more of them?

"Um... he's, ah... I'll get to that in a moment." Fury mumbled, his eyes darting to the side for a second, as if he couldn't hold Aster's stare. "But what do you remember about last night?"

Letting out a long sigh Aster brought his hand up to rub at his forehead, trying to think through the aching pain in his head as he gave out a small hiss.

"Uh, that thing... Whispering Death guy, lunging at Jack and Jack screaming and then, I don't know, a roar or something." He gave a shake of his head, as if it might help to resort the scattered thoughts in his mind. Looking back up he eyed Fury, a frown on his lips as he continued. "Was that not you?"

Well, if Fury had said that Jack was the one who had brought him here than maybe it didn't make much sense for him to think that the roar had come from Fury but then who had...?

Aster gave out a sudden sharp hiss, both his hands snapping up to grasp tightly at his head as a sudden and sharp pain split through his mind.

Strong wings flared out with skin that felt like rock, but protected the soft flesh underneath. Everything was dark, but he could hear the wind whistling through the trees and the creatures running away through the forest. A thick snout pointed towards the skies inhaling sharply and hissing at the smells that surrounded him.

A large horned head snapped towards the strongest smells, a low deep growl shaking the very earth beneath the wide flat feet. Fear reeked from both the ones before him, but one was family, one he was sworn to protect, the other smell awful, wrong, an offensive invasion of dominance over his territory, and the earthly scent of his mate.

Without warning he lunged forward, wings snapping out in front of him and ripping the beast away from his juvenile with a powerful blast of air. Flying over the small shifter he went straight for his prey, listening to the way that they moved through the air, spinning and smashing his thick tail down on their long back just as they flew passed.

A loud shriek filled the night air, but he ignored it as he dove back for the injured shifter, gently but swiftly swooping them up and flying out of the clearing, away from the danger and the enraged roar that fell behind.

Aster's chest hurt, his breathing coming in hard and fast as his heart beat painfully behind his ribs.

Was that a... was that a memory? Had he... did he just...

"What the hell?" His hands were shaking as he looked down at them, as he could see through flashes just what they had turned into, what he had turned into. "I..." His throat closed, blocking off the rest of the words and trapping them inside.

Not knowing what else to do he turned to Fury, curling his hands into fists to help them stop shaking.

"Fury..."

"Just breath Aster."

Doing as he was told he sucked in a sharp breath, rolling his shoulders back as he tried to shake himself out, tried to shake off the panic that was creeping along his back like a pack of hairy legged spiders.

Fury approached him, ushering Jack out of the way as he stood before the taller male, taking his hands and giving them a gentle squeeze to help keep him a little more grounded.

"Did you honestly not know?"

Aster shook his head so quickly that the world swam for a bit, letting out a long breath as he looked down at Fury.

"That's bullshit!" Stormfly hissed, taking a quick step towards them.

Fury whipped his head around to snarl sharply at her, the lights in the room going dim before they lit up blindingly white, forcing Aster to have to squint in the darkness. Storm came to a halt, the look over her face refusing to settle even if she stayed glued in place.

"There's no way that he could have gone on his whole life without knowing that he was a shifter. It's not possible. The changing process alone isn't something that can be stopped and would have happened over ten years ago." She pushed, her brows narrowing sharply over her piercing yellow eyes as Astrid chanced a look over at her mentor. "This is just another Whispers situation Fury."

"Storm I swear to you," Aster said, nothing but naked honesty in his eyes as she snapped her gaze over to him, "I had no idea. I still... what am I even?"

From what little he knew of Shifters he couldn't help but be curious over just which one he had turned out to be.

"I'm sorry Aster but we don't know." Hiccup admitted. "Jack couldn't see you to well before you shifted back so..."

"I..." Storm seethed, interrupting the small male while crossing her arms tightly over her chest as she stared him down. Her lips pressed into a thin line while she continued to stare at him, stare into him, as if she could peer right into his soul and see if he was telling the truth or not. "It doesn't make any sense." She chose, her voice much calmer than it had been moments ago. "In order to keep yourself from shifting when under emotional distress you have to have amazing control. How could it be that you've gone your whole life without something that's greatly stressed you out or pushed you to your limits? Your parents died for gods sakes Aster and you're telling me that you didn't have to actively fight it?"

Well, he didn't really have anything to say about that. There had been plenty times in his life where he felt like he was going to snap, where the urge to just do...something, anything had nearly drove him mad, but nothing had pushed him as far as seeing Jack in danger, and he didn't remember what had happened to his parents other than the fact that one day they were there and the next they weren't.

"Oh shit."

"Language." Aster growled at his brother, staring the boy down in disapproval as Jack stared back up at him with wide eyes.

"North."

The rest of the group looked at him, the name of their family friend sounding just like some strange reference to one of the four directions. Before any of them could question him on it however the boy continued.

"Aster it must have been North." He explained, his hands running through his hair as he started to pace in small, tight circles. "On that day that your parents were...on the day that they died, you'd been there, and North took any memory of magic from you. He would have had no idea that you yourself were a shifter and would have removed those memories from you without knowing."

"How old were you when this happened?" Fury asked while Aster tried to keep up with all the overwhelming information that was being thrown at him.

"Um, eighteen."

"That would have been plenty of time for him to learn how to control it, especially if he wasn't a late bloomer." Fury said as Aster turned his back to everyone and shambled over to the Alpha's bed.

Without a second thought he sat down on it, staring blankly at the floor as he tried to put together what was going on.

So, there was some crazy shifter in the woods that was trying to kill his little brother for some reason. Okay, that was defiantly not ideal and if he saw whoever it was again he was ripping out their throat with his teeth. He was also apparently a shifter and no one knew just what kind and he didn't know because North had taken his memories in an attempt to keep him from remembering anything too painful about his parents. Sure, he guessed that made sense, but...

Holy hell.

He was a shifter.

Just what did that mean for him now? He wasn't a 'juvenile', and everyone kept mentioning that this was a lot like the Whispers situation and from the little amount of information that Fury had told him that was no good so... Did that mean that he wasn't allowed to be around them anymore? Was he even allowed to stick around in this town? Were they going to separate him from Jack?

He felt sick, and his head was still spinning, no doubt the aching along his whole body from shifting when he hadn't done so for years.

A slight dip in the bed next to him had him turning his attention to the one who sat next to him. Jack smiled up at him, but even he looked slightly nervous as to what this was all going to mean. Aster appreciated the support though and wrapped an arm around the boy's thin shoulders.

"Is there any way for us to get those memories back Jack?" Fury asked, pulling the brothers attention towards the rest of the group.

Jack gave a nod of his head, and suddenly Aster remembered the canister that Jack had offered him before.

"Perfect." Fury muttered, seeming much more at ease as he let out a long sigh. "Aster's not a threat to us." He continued, his eyes narrowing as they shifted over to Storm, her own gaze shooting down in a show of surrender. "And this changes nothing."

He could feel Jack relaxing next to him, could feel his little brother easing up, and that was enough to make him calm down too. Looking over at Fury he gave a small nod of his head in thanks. It would have been all too easy for them to turn on him, and he was sure that Fury was going to get an earful from his group later, but he wasn't just going to throw Jack and Aster to the wolves.

"Jack I'm sorry, but do you mind if I talk to your brother? Alone?"

"Um, sure?" Jack slowly got up from the bed, Aster removing his arm and getting to his feet himself as he watched the boy padded over to Hiccup.

He couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corners of his lips when the two held hands, Hiccup leading them out as Astrid followed close behind. With one look from Fury Stormfly gave a dip of her chin, spinning on her heels and exiting the room, closing the door behind her.

With just the two of them left Fury rubbed his hands over his face, letting out a small groan as he dropped them back to his side. Not sure just what to say Aster walked over to him, coming to a stop when he was just a few feet in front of him. If the flat stare that he was getting from the other was any indication Fury wasn't all that impressed with him, and Aster wasn't too sure where he stood with him at the moment.

"Um, Fury I'm, I'm sorry that I got mad at you earlier. I, um, wasn't thinking clearly."

"It's fine Aster." Fury muttered with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I would have reacted the same way if you would have tried keeping Hiccup from me. I just thought it would be better to see what you knew and remembered before Jack came in."

"Right."

His lips pressed into a thin line as he eyed the other wearily. Just as he was getting ready to except the worst he was instead shocked to see a few stray tears slipping down Fury's cheeks.

Fury hissed, his arm moving up quickly to wipe them away while his jaw clenched tightly, Aster almost swearing he could hear the bones cracking.

"Shit. Sorry, I..."

Aster moved forward, closing the space between the two until he had his arms wrapped tightly around him.

"When Jack showed up with you passed out I thought you'd been... And then he said that you guys had been attacked by a Whispering Death and he was bleeding and..."

"Sh Fury, it's okay." Aster cooed softly, his large hand rubbing up and down the others back slowly while Fury continued to rub vigorously at his eyes. "Jack's okay, I'm okay. Were both fine alright? And I'll help you find this guy and..."

"No." Fury yanked himself away, glaring strongly up at Aster with such an intense burning fire that it took his breath away. "Whispers is my problem, and I'll deal with him. I should have done it earlier but..."

"He was your mate."

The anger slid off of Fury's face, being quickly replaced with slack jawed shock as he looked up at the other.

"H-how did you..?"

"I could smell it. I'm pretty sure that he even came into my store once about a week or so ago. I couldn't figure it out than why I wanted to punch him but now it makes sense." Aster said, his voice becoming more and more of a growl as he spoke. "That jackass was flaunting it at me."

What a dick.

Fury stepped back, his sudden action catching Aster's attention as he pushed his dark hair behind his ears, his tongue peeking out for a moment to wet his dry lips.

"Um, ya, he was the one I told you about before. The um, the Alpha that we dealt with, that we took in."

"The one that hurt Hiccup? That hurt you."

That son of a bitch.

A snarl pulled at his lips, his chest burning with unquenchable rage, his mood changing so quick that Fury jumped, his eyes going wide as the drying tear tracks down his face drew in Aster's attention.

Just how much had this guy hurt Fury? How much had he made him suffer? He'd tricked him and used him and then when Fury wouldn't back down he'd wounded him beyond repair. Aster had seen it. Had seen the damage done to Fury, the handicap that made it impossible to fly, the way that his green eyes would turn to the sky with longing, the sliver that would line them before he would quickly wipe it away before his pack could notice.

Well, that wasn't going to happen again. Fury wanted to deal with him? Fine. But that didn't mean that Aster was going anywhere. He'd be right by his side.

Reaching out he gently placed his hands on either side of Fury's face, leaning down and gently kissed away the tears.

"He caught me off guard Fury, he won't do it again."

Fury growled, his gaze sharp before he pressed his face against Aster's neck, huffing hotly against his throat.

"I can't believe I actually loved that asshole."

The possessive part of Aster was snarling at that statement, but he had no right to be angry about it. Fury wasn't interested in that guy anymore anyways, and even if they had been mates, they weren't now. That's all that mattered.

Moving his hands down to Fury's waist Aster pulled him in closer, nuzzling against Fury's hair before he pulled back.

"That's in the past Fury. There's nothing that you can do to change it."

Fury took in a deep breath, pressing himself closer to Aster before he pulled away. Aster would have very much preferred to keep him close, to keep him within arms reach, but he didn't want to push too much. So instead he just watched, watched as Fury moved himself to lean back against the wall, his gaze moving to the ceiling in a daze as he let out a long sigh.

"I'm sorry that I got you and your brother involved in this Aster. I didn't think that he would come back. I thought after we'd dealt with him the first time he would have been smart enough to stay away." When Fury's eyes fell back to him Aster moved closer again, his hand coming up to take a hold of Fury's softly. "The last thing I want is for you guys to be dragged into this. Whisper's is nuts, and he's extremely aggressive."

"Well, your pack is strong Fury, now that we know he's here we'll be ready for it next time."

The laugh that Fury gave was hollow, but his fingers tightened as if he was afraid that if he let go, Aster would end up disappearing.

"I know we haven't known each other long Aster, but I don't think I could lose you."

Aster gave a small hum, bringing himself in until their foreheads were pressed lightly together.

"It's not the time that you spend with someone ShadowFire, its the connection you make with them." He whispered, smiling at the look of surprise that colored the others features. "If anything were to happen to you I'd burn the whole world to bring you back."

A smile bloomed over Fury's face, one that he tried to hide as he bit down on his bottom lip and ducked his head. With his free hand he gently tugged at the bottom or Aster's shirt, playing with the material between his fingers before he looked back up at the other once more.

"ShadowFire hm?"

"Your nickname. I think it suits you." Aster chuckled, ducking his head as he tilted his head just the slightest bit to the side. "Don't like it?"

"Well, it's no worse than some of other ones." He admitted tilting his face up and lightly nuzzling Aster's cheek.

Aster chuckled again, lifting his head and placing a gentle kiss to the top of Fury's brow. The dark haired male frowned when he pulled back, or really, he just pouted.

Smiling down at the adorable face Aster lifted his hand to cup the boy's cheek, his thumb caressing the soft skin as he tilted Fury's head up just the slightest.

"You won't lose me, and I don't care about what you might have think you dragged me into. None of this is your fault, but I will help you end it. Understand?"

Fury sucked in his teeth, his eyes narrowing, his brain no doubt already thinking of all of the situations and how badly they could go. What danger everyone could be placed in. Aster honestly liked their chances though. Whispers was one guy, and while he got the jump on Fury the first time there was no way in hell he would be able to do so again.

Reluctantly, mostly because he must have known there was no other choice he could make that Aster would agree on, Fury nodded his head.

"Good." Aster purred, swooping in on the others space again as he smirked down at him. "Now there's just one more thing that I want to do..."

(***)

"Okay we should go." Hiccup said, his face lighting up bright red as he pulled his cup away from the door.

The walls might have been sound proof, but the doors sure weren't.

"But they're just getting to the good stuff." Astrid frowned, only shifting her head enough to glare at Hiccup but not removing her ear from the end of her own cup.

"Nope, sorry, I can't do it either." Jack muttered, his face mirroring the color of Hic's as he jumped back, his hands fiddling with the cup in embarrassment.

Astrid gave out a sharp sigh, pulling away and following after the two.

"You guys are no fun."


End file.
